The Start of Something Different
by awakeningcity
Summary: Sequel to Pillow Talk.   After an unexpected  first  kissing adventure, Katsuya and Seto try to work out their developing feelings for one another through a series of friendly events.
1. Chapter 1

Someone suggested I do a sequel fic for Pillow Talk, and my Puppyshipping queen & beta TeacupKitty said I should give it a go, so here it is!

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><p>Seto's eyes flashed open and darted around the room, his heart pounding. He felt a strong anxiety that he could not explain and was made very uneasy by it. He was in his room, but something felt very wrong, or at least very out-of-place. He jerked his head slightly to the left and went to roll over, but a solid form behind him prevented him from moving. He kept still, confused and anxious beyond control, and looked down at his waist. An arm was curled lightly around him and he couldn't decide if he was relieved or more anxious.<p>

He swallowed and considered things a moment, feeling his heart pounding in his ears. It was Katsuya. He accepted that he wouldn't be able move unless he wanted to risk getting out of bed, so he momentarily relaxed his head back onto the pillow and tried to control his breathing. He was safely in his bed and Katsuya was still asleep, so things were fine, except that they weren't.

His heart was still beating hard. His whole back was warm and Katsuya's breathing at his neck was slow and steady. Seto thought about what happened before he'd fallen asleep, noting that he had slept much harder than usual and had not dreamed. Katsuya had come over after work, like he'd been invited to. That much was normal, or at least as normal as it could be considering it wasn't long ago they were often at each other's throats. Seto furrowed his eyebrows and tried to focus on remembering what had happened after that.

When Katsuya had come over he'd been sleeping. He was exhausted and didn't feel like talking much, just wanted to go back to sleep, which was also normal. Then Katsuya had been an idiot about the bed, which Seto had expected because Katsuya was known to specifically overreact to all things that were of least importance. (Although, Seto did mentally admit that he had every right to be uptight. It's not like Seto could run a company being casual about things like acquaintances- friends?- sleeping in _his _bed.)

Then he remembered lapsing into sleep, but damn it if Katsuya didn't stop waking him up. Just as he'd been about to lose his temper, Katsuya had made a comment about his nightmare. _That's what it was,_ Seto thought. Katsuya had thanked him, and had been, well, Seto couldn't really name it. He'd seemed so nervous, but so insistent about what he was trying to say. It was _genuine_ and, without thinking further on it, Seto had kissed him. Seto's entire thought process stopped for several moments at this knowledge. He could hear Katsuya's breathing and looked up to see the morning light coming in over the headboard. _Just like that, _he thought. He swallowed again, forcing himself to think about it against his own will. _Why_ he had kissed Katsuya he couldn't even fathom a guess. "Just because" seemed a little ridiculous, but he had started it, so he should know better of the two of them why. He pressed his lips together hard, caught between trying not to think about it and trying to force himself to think about it. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but found it impossible.

Risking the worst- waking Katsuya in their compromised physical state-, he nudged himself forward and slid his legs off the bed. He moved as slowly as possible, listening very hard to Katsuya's breathing to note any changes. He was possibly most grateful of all that his bed did not squeak. He slid down slightly and let his feet touch the floor. After a moment, waiting again to make sure Katsuya's breath did not change, he slid further and felt Katsuya's hand slide off his waist. Katsuya then took in a large breath and Seto froze, his chest still leaning on the bed. Seto watched with baited breath in panic, but Katsuya rolled over and readjusted himself under the blankets. Seto was perfectly careful not to breathe as he pushed himself up and off of the bed at last.

He lingered at his bedside a moment, feeling a little light-headed. He wondered briefly how Katsuya would react when he woke up, what he would say about it, if he said anything at all. For a moment he considered leaving the house so he wouldn't have to face it, at least not yet, but he wasn't sure what kind of impression that would leave on Katsuya. To retreat would be almost a sure sign of regret and he didn't want to make that move. He didn't really regret what he had done, but it was still not something he felt prepared to own up to so quickly. It was absolutely awkward and somewhat horrific, but he _had_ started it, and had done it in a stable mind. _What_ stable mind, however, he hadn't the slightest idea.

More than anything it disturbed him that if he were to be asked, he would not be able to provide a better reason than "because I felt like it". Seto was perfectly capable of doing whatever he wanted to do, but that did not mean he acted out of impulse. Everything he did had a good reason behind it, a solid purpose, and for this it should be no different. To act purely out of desire was childish, and he was not childish. The problem was that he did not know what the reason was. The feeling of not being able to explain himself easily put a bad taste in his mouth.

He walked around to the edge of the bed and looked back at Katsuya's sleeping face. Katsuya looked peaceful, and for that he was somewhat relieved. That Katsuya had been so accepting, even reciprocal, of what Seto had initiated was still surprising him so much he hardly had the energy yet to worry if Katsuya would still be so accepting when he woke up. Everything was still new and turning about in his mind. The feeling of uneasiness was well cultivated in his stomach as he walked slowly to his closet.

He retrieved a shirt from a hanger as quietly as possible and dressed in the doorway. He made to leave the room, but his hand lingered on the door. He hated himself for lagging behind, knowing that Katsuya could wake any moment, but his heart was still beating faster than usual and he had too many questions not to hesitate. He was not unhappy, of that much he was positive, and thus his anxiety turned from one kind to another. It was highly unusual for his feelings to take this turn, but he was ready to accept it, if it should prove to be unwavering. He realized that for the time being he was less nervous about the state of his own acceptance and more worried about Katsuya's reaction, and that was a sign that he was already in further than he understood himself to be. If Katsuya should stop coming round, he reckoned it would not really affect him much, but he did not really want Katsuya to disappear. He sighed, resigning to abstain as much as possible from over-worry until the situation directly presented itself. Seto closed the bedroom door and headed into the kitchen.

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><p>Seto grimaced at the clock as he poured himself a cup of coffee. It was just after seven o' clock and he kicked himself inwardly for oversleeping, especially since he had gone to bed so early. He accepted his state of confusion and irritation early on, as it was best not to fight it lest he become even more emotionally compromised by becoming angry as well. He dejectedly retrieved the newspaper from the front step and resumed his usual morning position on a barstool at the kitchen counter. Flipping immediately to the business section, he sipped his coffee and was more than content to focus on other matters for a while. After he'd read the entire paper over and the business section several times, he poured his third cup of coffee and went outside to get some fresh air.<p>

He motioned back to the lawn maintenance crew working on a flower garden on the right side of the front yard. Seto didn't see the point of the garden considering he wasn't at home nearly often enough to appreciate it, but if Mokuba wanted the yard to look as "nice" as the rest of the estate, Seto didn't see a lot of reason to oppose. He always refused Mokuba the first few times he asked for anything, but after agreeing in time to certain things, he was usually satisfied with the outcome. Mokuba had good taste and, aside from his general childish desires, he could be trusted not to be wasteful.

Seto walked nearly all the way down the front path, stopping just before the front gate and looking around. He was well awake and could enjoy the rising morning; it was warming up already, the breeze was cool and the sky was clear. After wandering around his front yard a while, thinking about nothing in particular except the good weather, he turned to walk back inside.

In time Mokuba woke for school and wandered into the kitchen for breakfast. Seto made him a bowl of cereal and Mokuba made small talk, discussing the day ahead. Mokuba commented that Seto was looking well rested for the first time in months and Seto made a face, replying that he'd overslept. Mokuba laughed and said that oversleeping for Seto was normal sleeping to everyone else. Seto nodded, as it was probably true, but said nothing else about it.

Mokuba left so that he'd be able to catch the train on time. Seto insisted he get one of the drivers to take him in the car, but Mokuba further insisted in taking public transport like a normal student. Seto did not see why Mokuba insisted in acting like he was average when he clearly wasn't, but allowed him to go anyway. He was not in much of a mood to resist. As Mokuba left, he sunk into the couch to begin working the sudoku puzzle.

He worked for some time in perfect silence, enjoying the challenge the puzzle was giving him. At length he heard the click of a door opening and felt a slight wave of panic. He looked up into the hall and watched his bedroom door open, feeling his throat close. He'd been perfectly distracted all the while and still was not prepared to say anything whatsoever to Katsuya other than "good morning", if he could even manage that through the anxiety he was feeling.

Katsuya shuffled out of his bedroom, shaking both hands through his hair. He stopped when he entered the living room and squinted, yawning, then shaking his head lightly. He stretched his neck to both sides and lifted his arms to stretch the rest of his body. Seto watched him against his own will, noticing the slightest bit of Katsuya's stomach that appeared when he stretched to his highest. He swallowed, his throat unbearably dry.

"Damn, I slept good," Katsuya said, shaking the sleeves of his jacket down until his hands were inside them. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and walked to the arm of the couch nearest Seto. He leaned his upper body over the side of the arm slightly, putting all of the counterweight in his legs. "How did you sleep?"

Katsuya's lips drew up on one side into a half smile. There was the slightest hint of suggestiveness in his voice and Seto would be damned if he didn't notice it, but whether or not Katsuya had done it on purpose was the question. He had already decided to be perfectly unassuming unless Katsuya brought something up specifically, so he responded as normally as possible.

"Just fine," he replied in his most even tone of voice, his face blank.

"Good," Katsuya said very pleasantly, making no effort to say more. Seto accepted that his answer had been sufficient one way or another and felt relieved. He watched Katsuya walk past the couch towards the kitchen. Katsuya suddenly stopped and looked around.

"What time is it?" he asked.

Seto looked up at the clock by the television, "Just after nine."

"Nine?" Katsuya said loudly, whipping around to face Seto. "Are you serious?" Seto motioned to the clock across the room, feeling it unnecessary for him to repeat himself.

"Shit!" Katsuya said, turning to rush back into Seto's room. He returned momentarily, hopping out of the hall trying to put on his left shoe. Seto didn't have to ask what the problem was.

"I have to go, I'll be lucky if I'm not late. Thanks for having me over!" He shouted as the door closed hard behind him. And just like that Katsuya was gone, and Seto was free from having to face any direct questions about anything at all, at least for the rest of the day. After a few moments of stunned silence, he flopped back onto the couch and rubbed his eyes wearily. _Thank goodness for that._

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><p>Katsuya had made it to work on time and was very relieved. He didn't like being late because he didn't like being rushed to finish things. He'd come to discover that he hated doing everything at once far more than he hated working in general, so if he didn't procrastinate, most things could be done at a semi-leisurely pace. High school had nearly killed him because of his abysmal work ethic and striving for independence wasn't something he could steadily ignore, so he'd made it a point to straighten himself out after he graduated. Upon his arrival at the restaurant, he changed into his uniform, touched base with his boss, and began helping the other servers set up.<p>

Just before opening time, Katsuya had finished his opening duties and had parked himself at a beverage station to wait for the signal that they were ready for business. Upon having a moment to himself, he thought back to his short morning at Seto's house. Seto had been pleasant enough for the entire minute Katsuya had seen him, except when he had asked how Seto slept. That was bothering him. Seto had given him such a stricken look for just a moment and it had puzzled Katsuya his entire way to work. Upon having a moment to think about it, it dawned on him. Overcome with a sudden horror he realized what the look was for. In an instant all of the events of the previous evening strung themselves together in his mind. How Seto had slept, the nightmare, the invitation, _the kiss_. _Not even just "the kiss"_, Katsuya thought incredulously; it had been several kisses. He leaned against the wall wearily, his eyes wide, pushing his hair back for a moment. _Shit_, he thought. _Shit._

Another server walked by and snapped near his face, calling his name. He looked up and the server motioned for him to follow out of the kitchen. That was the signal, and what a fine time for him to realize what the deal with Seto was. Katsuya mechanically stood up and began walking. His mind was in a tizzy, but he had to work. He swallowed, pushing the kitchen door open, considering what a long day it was going to be.

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><p>Katsuya found that between every customer, every drink order, every food order, every task, if he had a single second to think for himself, he was thinking about Seto. He was sure the last time he thought about Seto so often was on the days when Seto had insulted him before a duel back in high school. In the past, however, his thoughts were often accompanied by a bitter resentment, not the same dreadful curiosity he had now. Katsuya would have found it more humorous if it didn't have to be the worst type of attentiveness he could fathom. It was the <em>questioning <em>that was bothering him most, there was just so much he didn't know. He didn't like thinking more than he had to, but not being able to answer his own questions was more annoying than not knowing how Seto would answer any if he were to be asked.

There was a lot to consider, but every time Katsuya went to tell himself he was sure of something, he found himself asking more questions. At first he had been afraid to answer any of his own questions lest he admit something he wasn't prepared to be held accountable for, but throughout the day he became more comfortable with trying to sort it out. He had no idea when he'd be seeing Seto again anyway, so that gave him plenty of time to come to any kind of conclusions he might need.

He felt like there would definitely be a time when he'd be seeing Seto again; that much he knew he wanted and it was decidedly a good place to start forming a string of things he was sure about. He tried to consider other things that were definite. He thought about how he'd felt when Seto had kissed him and, just as he'd felt when it happened, it was weird to think about and made him uncomfortable- but only at first. He couldn't think about the actual kissing session for long without blushing, so for much of the day he avoided thinking about the event itself. It excited him, though, and that was something he could identify. He felt about it then much like he'd felt about it when it happened, it was scary (imagine kissing someone like Seto Kaiba), but also exciting and interesting. Furthermore, he was surprised at himself how ready he was to admit how much he'd enjoyed it.

His concept of Seto hadn't really changed, and he felt that was important, albeit a little surprising. He didn't feel like Seto was lusting after him or trying to blackmail him or anything, really. It had just happened. Being kissed by Seto didn't make him never want to see Seto again, but what then?

He wanted to see Seto again, he was okay that he had kissed Seto back, and still saw Seto in the same way, but those things posed the first question: why had Seto kissed him in the first place? Katsuya was happy that they were friends, certainly happier with their relationship now that they were friends than he had been when they weren't, and he'd become very content with their relationship being as pleasant as it was. He enjoyed being around Seto in general and could certainly not complain considering how badly their connection had started off, but none of those things provided a reason for the kiss.

He didn't want to convince himself of Seto's motivation because he might come to a completely unfounded conclusion, which always made things worse. He couldn't make any absolute assertions about his own feelings without the answer, but in his mental spare time during the day he tried to conjure up some of his own responses to some plausible reasons Seto might have had for kissing him.

First, Seto could have just been exhausted and hadn't known what he was doing, but Katsuya felt like it had gone on too long for that to be the case. Seto would have had to be having one hell of a dream if he had been asleep the entire time, and Katsuya felt like he'd responded way too much to have been asleep, so he ruled that out.

Second, Seto having feelings for him seemed utterly ridiculous, but it wasn't something that could be absolutely ruled out because Katsuya considered all things physically possible, no matter how improbable. Katsuya just as soon believed he'd win a trip to the moon as Seto Kaiba would admit a crush on him, especially considering how compassionless Seto generally was, not to mention that Katsuya was… Katsuya. He was the person who had irritated Seto for ages, it already seemed like a miracle to him that their relationship had developed as far as it had. If nothing else, that was certainly the least likely of his current considerations.

Third, Seto could have done it just for the hell of it. Katsuya knew Seto wasn't the type of person to act on impulse, but that didn't mean he was incapable of doing so. Katsuya hardly thought Seto the type to sexually experiment, especially on a random male that had previously been what Seto had considered a pathetic excuse for a rival, so that was out of the question, too.

Left to his considerations, he narrowed it down to what was unlikely and what was extremely unlikely. Every time he imagined Seto confessing a crush to him he nearly burst out laughing; it was just too unbelievable, especially right then. Katsuya certainly didn't hate the guy anymore, and didn't feel he was hated either, but he was sure he wouldn't believe it if Seto confessed to him then and there for a million dollars. He found himself leaning towards Seto just having said "fuck it, let's do something different and see what happens". It was hard to believe considering how systematic Seto's entire lifestyle was, but maybe that had been the point; to do something different. Katsuya felt he could agree to that much- it had certainly been different.

None of the options Katsuya considered, aside from the least likely option of Seto having a crush, lent to any implications of the duration of the possible "situation" it created. Whether or not Seto would do it again, or wanted to do it again, was completely unclear. That was his second question: did Seto intend to take it further? Katsuya felt fine with the idea of it having been a one-time thing, but the longer he thought about it, the more he felt an enticing curiosity forming.

It embarrassed him to ask himself if _he_ wanted it to happen again. He wasn't entirely averse to it happening the first time, but he was genuinely unsure about whether or not he simply _wouldn't mind _it happening again, or if he might actually _want _it. The idea of it didn't really disturb him, but he almost wished it did. Had he not been so busy and his thoughts so frequently interrupted by work, he felt sure he would have spent more time being embarrassed over the entire thing. Whether or not his curiosity would be sated by Seto's answers, he wasn't sure, but for the time being he was satisfied with the simple fact that he did want to see Seto again.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry this chapter is awkwardly brief!

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><p>Seto had been typing away at an entirely uninspiring document when the phone beeped.<p>

"Mr. Kaiba?" a female voice rang out. He picked up the receiver.

"Yes?"

"You have a call on line three, Mr. Katsuya Jounouchi. Says it's a personal call, not a priority."

He paused, lifting his eyebrows. _So we speak at last_.

"I'll take it, thank you," he replied. He swallowed, beginning to feel a touch of nervousness. He pressed the button to change lines.

"Seto Kaiba speaking," he started.

"Kaiba, fantastic. You have no idea how intimidating it is to call you at work."

"Yes, I do," he replied flatly. Katsuya paused, unsure of how to reply.

"It's intentional so that no one try to reach me here for anything that isn't absolutely essential."

"Who else would try to call you at work besides people who want to do business with you?" Katsuya asked.

"People who call to discuss personal matters."

Katsuya wondered intensely how many people could possibly qualify for calling Seto at work for "personal matters", but felt bad for calling anyway. It had been his fifth attempt and he had finally not gotten so anxious that he hung up on the second ring.

"I'm- I'm sorry," he said. "I asked her to tell you it wasn't important. But besides," he paused, "I didn't know how else to contact you without coming to your house and that seemed like a ridiculous thing to do for something I could just do over the phone."

Seto had leaned back in his chair and started clicking a pen, a habit he only indulged in when on the phone. Katsuya coming to his house just to speak to him would indeed have been ridiculous since he could just call. Seto briefly thought he wouldn't have minded Katsuya coming by anyway, aside from the increased awkwardness it would have created.

"So, you've gotten in touch with me. What did you want?"

Katsuya felt more ridiculous the longer he stayed on the phone, but now that he'd finally gotten hold of Seto he was intent on making his point. He tried to think of the best way to phrase what he wanted to say.

"Shizuka wants me to take her to the amusement park on Saturday and I," he paused again, feeling all the absurdity of the invitation, "I thought you might bring Mokuba and the two of you could come with us."

Seto stopped clicking the pen and thought a moment. It seemed of good enough intent, inviting the both of them, but it made him nervous nonetheless. He knew Mokuba would enjoy the trip, but he wasn't worried about Mokuba. He hadn't seen Katsuya since _that _night and didn't know how awkward it would be to see him again, especially in public. He wasn't even sure if Katsuya remembered what had happened, much less how he felt about it, and he himself still had no idea what he was feeling. Just thinking about the word "feelings" as much as he had the past few nights made Seto feel ill. Besides, as far as he knew, Katsuya might never bring it up as long as they lived, and in theory he felt perfectly satisfied with that idea. He knew, though, that being around Katsuya would make him want to know where they stood.

He sighed inwardly, supposing he would have to break the ice somehow if he ever wanted to see Katsuya again. Seto was always reluctant to admit that he wanted anything personal, but he did feel the vague desire to _see_ Katsuya again, if nothing else. He leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling. He pushed his chair backwards away from his desk and tried to relax.

"You called me at work to invite me to an amusement park?" He sounded almost amused, but it was a little cold, like he wasn't taking the offer seriously. Without thinking, he was attempting to provoke Katsuya into retreating, which he hadn't really wanted to do._ Old_ _habits die hard_, he supposed, a little disappointed in himself. He hoped briefly that Katsuya wouldn't give in to his petty attack.

"Well, yes." Katsuya sounded hesitant at first and Seto briefly wondered if it was because of what he had said or because of what had happened between them. When Katsuya continued, however, the nervousness in his voice was lost. Seto had expected him to apologize for bothering and realize how ridiculous his proposition was, but Katsuya went the entire opposite way.

"I called you at work because it's the easiest way to contact you. Even if I had your home number I wouldn't see the point in trying to call you at home because you never _are _home. Besides, if you were too busy to talk to me, you wouldn't have taken the call to begin with, so deal with it."

Seto chewed his lip a moment and threw the pen back on his desk. He leaned his mouth into one hand and looked out the window, but he was listening close to Katsuya. His heart was beating so fast, but why?

"I'm inviting both of you. You don't seem like the type at all, but I'm sure Mokuba is. It's more for Shizuka than me, so they'd be like two peas in a pod. I figured if we're going to be out, Mokuba would enjoy tagging along with her, and you could… Well, I'd be fine just wandering around with you if you'd keep me company. You invited me over last, so it's kind of my turn."

Katsuya stopped and immediately regretted being so insistent. Speaking so directly to Seto even though they were closer was difficult, especially since Seto had already made the offer sound ridiculous. Knowing Seto's overbearing personality, he worried that pushing Seto too much would provoke him to push back harder than necessary as he usually did. Katsuya feared that any time he tried too hard to insist something Seto might snap into his old ways and condescend him into nothingness just to prove him wrong, even though it was unnecessary. Katsuya was too strong to let Seto's harsh knee-jerk reactions seriously affect him, but it would really hurt him if they went back to that relationship.

Even though Seto was across town and Katsuya could not see his face, he felt like he knew the exact look he was receiving, and it made him uncomfortable. Sometimes Seto could give that look that just made you feel bad for being alive, and that was definitely the look he felt he'd be getting if he were sitting across from Seto in his office. He wanted to retract what he said, but he'd already said what he needed to say. He leaned forward onto the edge of his chair, pulling the back of the chair off the ground. He looked at the floor and reached out to touch the carpet sheepishly. He hoped Seto would blow him off rather than get angry, that wouldn't be so bad. He hung the phone loosely on his ear and waited for the response.

Seto was not at all reacting the way Katsuya was expecting, but Katsuya had not reacted to Seto the way he had expected, either. Seto was somewhat astonished, but almost proud of Katsuya for not retreating. He felt an unnatural excitement that he wasn't sure he'd felt before. Perhaps why they had fought so often in the past is because Katsuya was the only person willing to actually fight with him. If Seto started a fight, Katsuya fought back, when he yelled, Katsuya yelled back- Katsuya was not afraid of Seto to a point that most people did not even attempt to reach.

Seto had always been victorious in their fights of all kinds, but he didn't necessarily have more to prove. Despite constant dismissal through most of their relationship, Katsuya still had a fight in him. Now that they had both matured their relationship beyond fighting, however, Katsuya was still not backing down in fear of ruining what they had- at least not in this case. Seto couldn't tell if it was from tolerance or foolishness, but it seemed like if Seto had a relapse, Katsuya was prepared to call bullshit on him. Seto briefly admired his bravery; it was not often he met people who could take a cold comment like he'd given and attempt to completely override it without crumbling afterwards. That proved that Katsuya was confident in their current relationship.

He chewed his lip lightly again, looking around the room. His heart was hammering, he was so nervous he wanted to laugh. Why was it he only ever felt this kind of nervousness when it involved Katsuya?

"I'll ask Mokuba if he wants to go," he said solidly. "Give me your number so I can call you back when I get home."

Katsuya nearly dropped the phone. _Was that a yes? _he thought. There was no way in hell Mokuba _didn't_ want to go, so that had to be a yes. Seto was going to go. He was stunned into silence for a moment from the sheer unlikelihood of the situation, then managed to give Seto the number as steadily as possible. Their parting speech was brief and both were glad for it.

After Katsuya got off the phone, he was pretty sure he had passed into the next life. He stood up from his chair and immediately flopped onto his bed. How he'd managed to say all he did and get a perfectly normal response from Seto he was sure he'd never know for the rest of his life, but he was completely okay with accepting it anyway.

He felt nervous, knowing that he'd be going with Seto somewhere in public. Since they'd started hanging out, it was always Katsuya that came to Seto's house to visit and that was it. Seto had been to his house once, but Katsuya made every effort to avoid associating Seto with his home life, and he knew Seto was glad to be spared of his sub-par living arrangements.

He was both comforted and disconcerted that there would be lots of people around at the park. It would either help them to blend in and set things at ease or make the situation worse if anything happened. The problem with the potential for "anything" to happen was that it could really be anything. The last thing he wanted to do was make a fool out of himself in front of Seto in a huge crowd of people.

He buried his face in a pillow, sighing heavily. He'd just have to try not to screw up, which is what he usually did around Seto anyway. There was still the awkwardness of not knowing what was going on between the two of them, but he was glad Seto hadn't refused. He knew Seto was never going to make a move to see him ever again even if Seto _wanted _to, so he'd made the call to try and facilitate meeting again. He didn't know whether or not he wanted to talk about what had happened, or if Seto thought about it at all. He spent the rest of the day considering himself the luckiest person to get out of the phone call without a scrape and just hoped that if a situation arose again where things were that uneasy with Seto, he'd have enough courage or stupidity to see it through.


	3. Chapter 3

Saturday rolled around faster than Katsuya had hoped it would. It wasn't that he wasn't looking forward to going to the amusement park, but his nervousness about seeing Seto again had not lessened. He had promised himself to pay more attention to what he said and did during the evening in order to avoid provoking Seto into regretting his attendance. After all, Seto was kind of doing him a favor by coming along. Katsuya liked spending time with Shizuka, but knew she would have more fun hanging out with Mokuba than him, and he needed an excuse to see Seto again anyway.

Seto had suggested that they would meet outside the park at seven o' clock. The weather was clear, but had a bit of a chill to it and a cold breeze. Katsuya and Shizuka stood near the entrance and talked about Shizuka's school life while they waited, which wasn't long. Katsuya had noticed out of the corner of his eye they were being approached and stopped mid-sentence. Shizuka noticed too and started waving to them.

"Mokuba! Mr. Kaiba!" She shouted, Mokuba waved back and ran up to greet them, leaving Seto behind.

"Shizuka, hey!" Mokuba greeted Katsuya briefly, but he and Shizuka immediately started talking to one another. Katsuya tried to keep his eyes on the two of them to avoid watching Seto walk the rest of the way over to where they were standing. When he was close enough, Katsuya looked over. He didn't feel paralyzed like he expected to feel, but he was slightly on edge.

"Hey, how are you?" Katsuya asked, smiling, as they filtered through the ticket line.

"I'm well, yourself?" Seto sounded reserved as usual, but not uptight. He still didn't sound comfortable when he asked Katsuya how he was feeling. Katsuya knew Seto hadn't been built on a lifetime of being concerned how other people felt.

"I'm good, thanks." Katsuya hesitated, but decided on saying it anyway; "I'm glad you decided to come."

Seto looked him in the eyes briefly, then nodded and followed them inside.

"Seto, we're gonna go. We'll check in at the food court at eight-thirty?"

"That's fine," Seto said stiffly. He didn't like sounding sentimental under the scrutiny of Katsuya and his sister, but it was necessary.

"Be careful," both Katsuya and Seto said at the same time. Katsuya didn't dare look at Seto, but Seto didn't resist the glance. A moment of embarrassment and irritation passed and the next he felt very close to Katsuya. He realized that his younger sister was probably exactly to Katsuya what Mokuba was to him. It made him feel a little less apprehensive about being open with his protectiveness.

"We will," Shizuka said, smiling. Mokuba laughed and rolled his eyes.

"At least _try_ to have fun, big brother!" he shouted behind him as they waved and ran off into the crowd.

For a moment Seto and Katsuya stood still, neither willing to look at the other. Katsuya was slightly embarrassed that they had said the same thing at the same time, just because he thought it might irritate Seto. Thinking about it, Katsuya had decidedly become more passive about their relationship than he had previously thought. Seto being a jerk like he usually was wasn't worth getting upset over, and in it's own way, Katsuya not rising to the bait as easily proved to irritate Seto more. Katsuya couldn't deny that he enjoyed seeing Seto mad sometimes, it was almost comical how predictable it was. He finally turned and looked at Seto, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Seto was wearing one of his usual black turtlenecks and a pair of black, straight-legged pants. His familiar card locket was hung around his neck and his hair was perfectly neat. If anyone could pull off the "government agent but without the sunglasses" look, Seto was that guy. It suited him, though. It was both casual and refined, much like Seto's general disposition around Katsuya.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Katsuya asked, lifting forward slightly on his toes.

Seto looked at Katsuya and crossed his arms lightly across his chest. He found himself more relaxed than he had expected to be. He hated crowds and everything the average living being considered entertainment, but he had chosen to be here and hadn't yet found it intolerable. Perhaps it was an attempt at being more normal or wondering if Katsuya was capable of changing the scene. He wasn't concerned enough with the event to put much thought into what he wanted, so he played it back.

"You invited me, is there not anything you had in mind?"

Katsuya thought a moment before he broke out into a wide grin.

"I'd sell my deck to see you ride a roller coaster."

Seto was caught so off guard by the suggestion he nearly laughed, which luckily came out as a scoff. Had Katsuya lost his mind?

"As much as I'd love to see you willingly forfeit every Duel Monsters card you own for a paltry cause, that's hardly enough to entice me into such a ridiculous thing."

"Fine," Katsuya said, crossing his arms. He didn't really think he could legitimately coax Seto further, considering he essentially had nothing of any value to offer. "Uh- I'll ride whatever you want, no questions asked."

After a few moments of silence, Seto grinned- something had came to mind immediately.

"Haunted house, but after it gets completely dark."

Katsuya was surprised Seto had agreed so easily, but that was not at all the condition he had wanted him to agree to. Seto saw his eyes dilate and felt a slight sense of empowerment. If Katsuya was going to pawn Seto into showing him something people rarely saw, then Katsuya would have to give up something of equal price; his social dignity seemed like a good place to start.

Katsuya stammered slightly, trying to speak.

"No questions asked?" Seto reminded him, raising his eyebrows. Katsuya furrowed his eyebrows and turned to lead them towards the roller coaster.

"You're on."

* * *

><p>Katsuya had to slow down several times to make sure that Seto was still following behind him. Seto was so full of himself that he never changed his walking speed, never moved out of anyone's way, and never failed to insult anyone who came into physical contact with him. Eventually Katsuya found himself walking directly beside Seto, glaring fiercely when it looked like Seto was about to speak to someone. Katsuya had asked him to relax, to which Seto had not responded. When a game vender stopped Seto to invite him to the game by grabbing his arm, Katsuya was sure Seto was rounding about to punch him dead in the face; luckily Katsuya had managed to pull him away by his other arm before anything drastic happened.<p>

Katsuya pulled them into the line for the roller coaster and started laughing. He'd be damned if being with Seto in public wasn't exactly as stressful as he'd imagined it would be, but Seto had kept himself startlingly calm the entire time. Even the few times that someone had physically crossed him, Seto did not raise his voice or make a scene. He mostly kept to giving people hateful glares and being as threatening as possible just by physical appearance, which wasn't hard at his height and with his general disposition. Katsuya had leaned forward from laughing so hard when he noticed he still had hold of Seto's arm. He quickly released it, controlling his laugh and running his hands through his hair to occupy the empty space.

Seto looked at him silently, wondering what was so funny. He drew attention for the first time to the fact that Katsuya had a nice, clear laugh that wasn't annoying or patronizing. It was like Mokuba's laugh, except it had less sentimental value. Seto couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed aloud.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm pretty sure I just saved that guy's life," Katsuya responded. Bending over to hold his knees and laugh again for a moment.

"If someone grabs my arm without my permission in an obvious attempt to physically control me, I can't possibly be expected not to respond," Seto stated, crossing his arms.

"You didn't fight very much when I pulled you away," Katsuya said from his leaned over position. He quickly noted the suggestion in what he'd said and regretted speaking. He pressed the back of his left hand to his mouth and looked away. He was still hunched over, so there was no way Seto could see his face, but it was still embarrassing.

Seto waited several moments until Katsuya stood up again to respond.

"Would you _prefer_ that I fight you?" He asked.

"No, no, that's not what I meant, I-" He ran his hands through his hair again, unable to form an actual response. He couldn't look Seto in the face.

Seto had caught the implication of what Katsuya had said, but chose to take it further. He didn't fight Katsuya because he didn't want to, but if Katsuya was going to try to make himself feel special when he should have realized Seto had been generalizing, then who was Seto to refuse?

"If bonkotsu is jealous and wants his own fight, I think I can find time after work some afternoon," Seto called as Katsuya moved forward in the line.

Katsuya turned his head to give Seto a mean glare. Now he was just being messed with.

"I don't want to fight you," he responded.

"Did you just say "I don't want to lose"?" Seto asked, turning his head slightly as if listening closer.

"No, asshole, I said _I don't want to fight you, _but I'm not afraid of losing. A skinny guy like yourself who spends all day in an office? I doubt you'd be much of an opponent."

A slow, menacing smile spread across Seto's face and he leaned in a little closer to Katsuya's. Katsuya did not like the look at all because it was absolutely the look of someone who was very obviously more capable than they let on. That was how Seto usually liked himself to be seen, Katsuya should have known better than to suggest otherwise. He swallowed hard as Seto got closer and closer to his face.

"You're holding up the line," Seto said softly, looking up. Their noses would have touched if someone behind Seto fell into him.

Katsuya immediately turned away from Seto to close the gap in the line and to attempt to control the thundering heartbeat in his chest.

* * *

><p>They reached the front of the line and were let into the gate. Katsuya was still a nervous wreck, but he didn't want to let Seto get the better of him. He climbed quickly into the front cart and smiled wickedly as Seto showed the slightest amount of reluctance at his choice of seating. They strapped themselves in and pulled the metal bar over their heads.<p>

"I can't _wait _to see your face," Katsuya said confidently, his hands on the bars. Seto tilted his head slightly towards Katsuya and gave him the smallest smile, but it was entirely wicked. Katsuya had been smiling himself until Seto gave him that look. It was one that suggested Seto knew something he didn't and it disconcerted him. It seemed Seto had that look almost all the time. He supposed that he really _didn't_ know much about what Seto was capable of, and felt slightly depressed by it. He looked forward onto the tracks, trying to ignore it. Seto was probably bluffing since it was his last chance to do so before he was shamed for the rest of his human life.

Katsuya felt the familiar pump of excitement in his chest as the bars locked and the ride began to make substantially more noise.

"Any last words, mighty Kaiba?" Katsuya asked, his voice slightly raised over the noise. The carts began to move forward. Seto did not say anything or make any particular expression the entire way up the track towards the first drop. Katsuya highly anticipated the initial descent and was determined to watch Seto closely the entire ride. He pushed his right side as hard against the side of the cart as he could to turn towards his left. Seto was staring straight forward, his face perfectly relaxed, his hands in his lap rather than on the bars.

The closer they got to the top of the hill, the more anxious Katsuya became- what if Seto really was a robot and didn't react at all to being on a roller coaster? He didn't figure he could think of a better adrenaline rush if he thought for the rest of the night. He blushed slightly, suddenly thinking maybe there was something else- but they had nearly reached the crest of the hill and Seto interrupted his thought. Just as they pulled to the top for a single moment, Seto spoke, and Katsuya threw out every thought to listen. Seto had the most horrible grin on his face Katsuya believed he'd ever seen, and not a moment before they began to fall, Seto said "I love roller coasters."

The horror Katsuya felt from the simple sentence was momentarily nullified by the drop in his stomach from the first fall of the roller coaster. As they plummeted, Katsuya whooped loudly a single time, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his hair. After the initial descent, he returned his face to Seto, who's expression was hardened and fierce. Through the turns and hills rushing behind them, Seto was not even blinking. He could have had his reading glasses on and a cup of coffee in his hand and would look completely in place, Katsuya thought incredulously. Katsuya laughed aloud and felt stupid; he should have known better. They went upside-down in a loop and Katsuya found he was most amazed to find that Seto's hair did, in fact, move at certain angles.

When Katsuya had started laughing, Seto turned his head just slightly to look at him. To laugh openly on a moving rollercoaster made Katsuya look unbelievably stupid. Seto felt a strong tingle in his chest and had to turn away to prevent himself from openly laughing. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt such a strong desire to laugh. Katsuya's hair flying everywhere was ridiculous and why was he laughing, anyway? Seto neatly placed the back of his hand over his mouth and knew Katsuya was watching him closely. He could see Katsuya's wide smile out of the corner of his eye and felt so comfortable for a reason he could not name. Another handful of twists and turns and they were back to the starting point, Katsuya looking much like a blow dryer had blown up in his face, and Seto simply having to straighten his collar.

Katsuya pushed out of the gate quickly to get out of everyone else's way and, as soon as the crowd had cleared, immediately burst out laughing. He clutched his stomach with one hand, bracing himself by holding onto Seto's arm. Tears pooled in the sides of his eyes and his jaws ached from laughter. He took in deep gulps of air and doubled over several times, unable to bear the terrible burn in his abdomen. It took him several minutes to regain composure, but even as he spoke to Seto, he did not stop laughing entirely. Seto stood up straight, watching Katsuya wheeze with an unabashed expression. He waited patiently for Katsuya to explain himself, as he was sure Katsuya would as soon as he had enough air to do so.

"What the hell, Seto," Katsuya gasped. "You bastard- how could someone like _you_ like roller coasters? When have you ever ridden a roller coaster in your entire life?"

"I built my own theme park, bonkotsu," Seto responded flatly.

"Right, but that doesn't mean you _like_ theme parks, and even if you did, you sure as hell don't have to like _roller coasters_," Katsuya said emphatically, still holding his stomach and laughing intermittently. "I mean, do you have any idea how you look on a roller coaster? Take a mirror sometime_. Seto Kaiba, the adrenaline addict_!" Katsuya said shrilly, his voice somewhat cracking as he burst out laughing again.

Seto was keenly aware of Katsuya's hand clutching his shoulder, but made no effort to remove it. He found himself surprised that he was not more annoyed at being mocked, but he did see Katsuya's point.

Just like all of Seto's personal preferences, his enjoyment of roller coasters was something that no one aside from Mokuba knew. He never saw the point in expressing what he especially liked in front of people because what he _disliked _was usually more important; also because his preferences were irrelevant unless he was alone, in which case he already knew what he liked, or in an intimate setting, which consisted of either business matters or Mokuba matters, in which case the former involved formal preferences, like how he liked his coffee, and otherwise Mokuba knew his likes and dislikes well. Thus, he had no one aside from Mokuba to express his real preferences to. He didn't mind Katsuya knowing what he liked, really; it was better that Katsuya make a big deal about it than disregard it as trivial information. He wouldn't go around admitting all his personal preferences to just anyone even if he _did_ have the opportunity.

He said nothing. Katsuya looked back up at him, wiping his eyes with one hand, his face red.

"Oh man, when we turned upside down I thought I was gonna die. Your hair- I've never seen you look so ridiculous. I've never seen you look ridiculous to begin with, really, to be fair, but holy shit," he paused, taking in a large breath of air. "I've never laughed so hard in my life. I thought you were gonna turn out being afraid of heights or at least break a face or something, but I was wrong. The hair thing, though, that was totally worth it. I'll never forget that as long as I live." Katsuya wheezed again, covering his mouth. Before he knew it, he couldn't control his laughter and he released Seto to cry properly on the ground.

Seto crossed his arms and felt the slightest twinge of annoyance, but not at Katsuya's laughing (as it should have been directed, he thought); it was how much he was overreacting. Seto didn't feel it was _that _abnormal to have an interest like roller coasters, but in considering for a moment, he supposed it really did seem farfetched. Seto never resorted to physical violence, rarely concerned himself enough to raise his voice, and usually sought the most quiet, direct, systemized route to everything. Even someone as unfamiliar as Katsuya could feel partial to those assumptions. To be particularly fond of something many people considered "thrilling" enough to develop a legitimate fear over could certainly be considered out of place for him. Still, to Seto, it seemed like that method of assumption was only appropriate for a total outsider. Katsuya hadn't come into _too _much contact with Seto's particular preferences, at least not yet, but he wasn't a complete outsider anymore. Seto found himself hoping a bit that Katsuya would be a little more open-minded. He suddenly realized how ridiculous it was that he was even bothering to think about it and didn't know why he cared. He shook the thought from his mind, intent on focusing on what an idiot Katsuya looked like sobbing and laughing on the ground.

For a few minutes, Katsuya seemed composed, but would break into snickers when he looked Seto in the face. Seto couldn't decide how he felt about Katsuya giggling like a fool every time he was looked at, as usually it made people tremble with fear or admiration. Eventually Katsuya composed himself enough to stop laughing entirely and reached out his arm, silently asking for Seto to help him up. Seto simply looked at him stoically, however, and said nothing.

"Help me up," Katsuya said, noticeably more asking than demanding; he moved his hand slightly. Seto hesitated a moment, assuming out of his natural habit of not helping anyone do anything, but eventually unfolded his arms to extended out his hand. Katsuya took it and smiled broadly. When Katsuya smiled Seto felt something of a trigger in his chest that he could not explain. He was taken aback and promptly let go of Katsuya hand. As Katsuya had only been halfway to standing, he lost his balance. He reached desperately for something to prevent his fall and caught onto Seto's sleeve. He was already too far gone, however, and brought Seto down with him as he fell.

Seto had caught himself hard by the forearms and his right hip, the only part of himself in contact with Katsuya was the right side of his waist up his ribcage, but it had hit Katsuya hard. Katsuya had- rather pathetically, Seto thought- fallen flat onto his back. Seto could immediately feel the warm pressure of Katsuya's ribs beneath him and felt embarrassed, knowing people were probably staring. Withdrawing, he used Katsuya's face as a handle to push himself upright to stand. Katsuya groaned and caught his face in his hands when Seto removed his own.

"What was that for?" Katsuya said loudly and indignantly. He sat up in one swift movement, rubbing his nose.

"Being a clumsy idiot," Seto responded shortly, quickly dusting himself off and replacing his hands across his chest in his most comfortable position. Katsuya considered exasperatedly that it was Seto who had let go of his hand, causing him to lose his balance. He wondered why Seto had released him, but did not ask. He looked up at Seto a moment, as if expecting something, and said nothing.

"I'm not about to try helping you again, " Seto said stiffly, beginning to walk away. "You wasted your chance, help yourself up."

Katsuya made a face at him as he turned, lifting up and dusting himself off. He briefly rubbed his hand against the place where Seto's rib had jabbed into his side, thinking on a feeling he couldn't name.


	4. Chapter 4

As they reached the entrance to the haunted house, Seto suddenly excused himself to go to the restroom; Katsuya agreed to wait in line for him outside. In passing, Seto made a comment that Katsuya should consider going before the ride too, lest he go in his pants from fear. Katsuya cursed him all the way into the restroom, then retreated back outside to wait in line, huffing.

Katsuya shoved his hands in his pockets and bitterly thought about how much he didn't want to go through with his end of the deal. Things were totally unfair now, after all- despite how hilarious Seto looked with his hair upside-down, Katsuya hadn't gotten a rise out of Seto at all on the roller coaster. Seto had known all along he was getting the better end of their deal, which was cheating. Katsuya looked at the ground grimly and waited.

At length he noticed brown hair and a black shirt beside him and went to speak, thinking it was Seto, but realized immediately that it wasn't. It was a person he assumed to be female, several inches shorter than him, standing next to him with wide, hopeful eyes. This was absolutely not Seto, unless Seto had gone to the bathroom to transform into a young girl who looked phenomenally like him.

"I'm sorry," he started awkwardly, "can I help you with something?"

"Excuse me," she started a little too loudly. Katsuya decided the person was female, but she was purposefully speaking in a lower voice, which he found strange.

"I- I don't mean to be rude. I was just wondering- the great Mr. Kaiba, sir,- he was here with you just a moment, wasn't he? I swear I saw him just here," she trailed off, looking around. Katsuya laughed loudly inside, thinking that she clearly did not know Seto well at all to be referring to him with such an honorable title.

"You mean _Seto _Kaiba? Yeah, he's with me. What do you want with him?"

The girl immediately lost composure in her excitement. She put her hands on her face and took deep breaths, turning from one direction to the next, muttering to herself. "He's here. Oh, wow, the great Mr. Seto Kaiba is here. I can't believe it. And I'm here, too! I'm so close. Oh gosh, I'm the luckiest person alive."

She turned back around to face Katsuya, stepping closer to him. "I can't believe Mr. Seto Kaiba is here with you! Forgive me, but do you- do you think you could introduce me? I'm sorry to be so forward, but please, if you could, I'd never wish for anything more in my life. I love Mr. Kaiba more than anything, more than anyone, I would be so honored just to say hello. Please, oh please, do you think you could?"

Katsuya almost felt offended at her saying "with you" as if he was unworthy to be seen with Seto, but figured more of her emphasis was on the fact that Seto was physically there, rather than who he was with. He quickly reasoned that her intense adoration for Kaiba was probably the reason she looked so much like him- and probably why she was speaking in a lower voice.

He foremost couldn't believe that he was witnessing such an outspoken physical example of someone's obsession with Seto. Katsuya knew Seto was well-liked by girls (by appearance and the inverse-attraction "untouchable" syndrome only, he thought flippantly), but was not aware Seto had such avid fans that were unashamed to be seen in public gawking after him. He doubted anyone else in the world loved Seto enough to try and resemble him in their little finger, much less change their entire appearance to match his. Seto was a distant bastard after all and obviously required no one's approval to carry on with the way he was. Fans were an absolute last priority. Katsuya humored himself a moment in thinking for all it was worth, he was at least more important to Seto than _some_ people.

Katsuya was taken aback by her mixture of shyness and overzealousness. He considered saying no because he knew how uncomfortable it would make Seto- but then decided that was the best reason to accept. He smiled wickedly, thinking about how Seto had agreed to this bet to embarrass him, and yet Katsuya had not gotten his share from the roller coaster. The bet would end up being painfully one sided if Katsuya simply coalesced. This, however, if this didn't get a rise out of Seto, he didn't know what would. Besides, having the girl on the ride with them would make Katsuya less afraid. Seto would probably be too busy chewing him out to hope for his misery otherwise.

"Sure. I mean, I don't mind," Katsuya said, then paused. "You know, why don't you just ride with us?" He moved forward in the line and she stepped up with him before what he'd said sunk in. She looked as if she might faint. Aside from her pink cheeks, she paled, her eyes widened somehow even more, and her hands dropped to her sides. After a few moments of being perfectly still, she became even more animated than before.

"Are you- are you serious? Can I? I mean, could I? Oh my gosh, what an honor! I could never hope for something like this in my wildest dreams. Could you do that? You're so kind- I don't believe it. Sit next to the great Seto Kaiba for a whole two minutes. Oh, _wow!_" She gasped, holding her face in her hands again, then her tone changed again. She stayed breathless throughout.

"W-would the great Mr. Kaiba be okay with this, though? You really think he'd be okay? He doesn't even know I exist. I would die if I ever upset him in any way, I just… I just wanted to say hello. It's always been my dream to meet him, and getting to sit next to him… oh my gosh. I would love it, I really would, it would be amazing. I might die, I'd be so honored. Oh, this would be the best thing to ever happen to me, it really would. I can't even tell you. I could never repay you. Really? I just wonder if it's really okay. Do you think I can? I'm so sorry, what's your name? I'm so rude, I can't believe it. A friend of Mr. Seto Kaiba, I'm sorry-!"

Katsuya felt exhausted just from listening to her. He briefly considered how manic she must be to go through feeling excited and apprehensive so quickly, but smiled widely at her anyway. He relished in the vindictiveness of what he was about to do, but somewhere in his mind found himself stuck on the term "friend". He felt obnoxious for it bothering him, but could not stop questioning it. He pushed the thought temporarily aside by speaking.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He's a little _reserved_, which I'm sure you know all about, but I don't think he'll _blow up _or anything; and I'm Katsuya. Katsuya Jounouchi. What's your name?"

"Mr. Jounouchi! I've heard of you, from the Duelist Kingdom tournament, but it's been a long time. I didn't know you were friends with Mr. Kaiba," she responded, bowing eagerly. Katsuya felt a twinge of pride at being recognized, but also frustration at being spoken to as if she was more familiar with who Seto's friends were than he was.

"It's wonderful to meet you," she continued. "I'm Setsuko Kaibana, but my friends call me Seko," she said excitedly. "I can never repay you, Mr. Jounouchi. Thank you so much for this," She bowed again, but couldn't help smiling. Tears were forming in her eyes.

Katsuya stared in disbelief for a moment, noticing the astounding similarity between her name and Seto's. It made him so uncomfortable he got a bad taste in his mouth, but he decided to roll with it. He wasn't sure he expected anything different, after all, whether or not that was her real name. This girl was obviously obsessed.

"No problem. Just, uh, stand behind me until we get to the gate, then when we get on, follow in behind us. It'll be easier if he's trapped between us and can't run, you know? Shy types and all."

She smiled a little too eagerly, as if she understood exactly what he meant. Katsuya was a little disturbed by this, but the deal had been made. He felt vaguely annoyed by her, but supposed Seto would have to deal with much more of her annoyance than he did. He was then reminded of the sweetness of the deal- foiling Seto's plan to embarrass him made him feel pretty accomplished. If Seto wasn't about to be the victim of it, he figured Seto might have even been proud at how vindictive it was- Seto was, after all, never one to pass up an opportunity to get even. Katsuya couldn't immediately think of a deal for revenge being made more easily in his whole life.

Pushing his hands deeper into his pockets, Katsuya moved forward in the line a little. He turned back to her momentarily and she was blushing and smiling wide. What luck.

* * *

><p>After having already mistaken the girl for Seto, Katsuya didn't respond immediately when he returned from the bathroom. Seto noticed a peculiar look on Katsuya's face- one which was entirely too happy for someone who was about to be publicly shamed for behaving like an infant. He became skeptical and could not resist asking.<p>

"What's that look all about?" he asked, folding his arms.

"What are you talking about?" Katsuya said, turning his head only a fraction towards Seto, his tone flat and unassuming. Seto heard a slight gasp behind him and lost his train of thought. He said nothing, but kept his eyes focused on Katsuya. At length Katsuya turned his head to face him.

"You spent like twenty minutes in the bathroom, were you re-applying your bastard coating? Stop giving me the evil eye, you creep,"

Seto heard a vague sound like something snapping in half and it distracted him. He suddenly felt self-conscious, which was a very unsettling and unfamiliar feeling. Katsuya acted like he was paying more attention than he should, but he was sure under normal circumstances for what was about to happen Katsuya wouldn't be nearly as nonchalant. He felt frustrated by that confusion, but didn't want to press further lest he seem even more concerned. After keeping his gaze still another few moments out of stubbornness, he turned to step forward in the line. They would be next.

After a few moments of silence, Seto spoke, subconsciously trying to replace himself as leader of the conversation. "I'd comment on how you're about to shame your ancestors with your petulant sobs, but you are sadly likely to be one of the least things they have to be ashamed of," Seto stepped past the gate and started into the doorway as the ride operator instructed.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Katsuya responded through gritted teeth, following him inside. Seto half-smiled and walked down the hall and around, feeling not even the slightest emotion at the deep darkness of the room, the cobwebs hanging above them, and the eerie music playing in the background. Katsuya took his hands out of his pockets to wrap them around his stomach, feeling the familiar tingle of anticipation in his gut. He looked behind to the crowd of people behind them and smiled at Seko, giving her a thumbs up, who returned the gesture.

They reached the train of carts, connected front to end by chain like a caterpillar. The room was dimly lit except for a line of bright lights on the floor where it dropped off onto the tracks. They were directed into the front cart by a line and Katsuya got in first, followed closely by Seto. As Seto reached to pull the bar down, to his abashed surprise, a third person slipped in beside him.

When the girl was seated securely, Katsuya pulled the bar the rest of the way down and it locked. Seto was facing her and Katsuya could not see his face, but from the girl's point of view, his expression held the most awestruck horror one can imagine on someone who is refined in the art of maintaining his composure.

"What do you think you're doing?" he said stiffly, sliding gently to the right until his thigh pressed against Katsuya's.

"Relax, she's a friend," Katsuya said from behind him, leaning forward over the bar gently, putting his chin in one hand. "I told her I'd introduce you. She's been a big fan all her life, I offered to let her ride along with us."

Seto turned his head around so slowly it looked like suffered from arthritis in his neck. Katsuya found himself more amused with how melodramatic it had looked than afraid of what Seto might do to him when he'd finished turning around. Seto's stare was so plainly malicious Katsuya could almost directly feel how much he was being loathed, but also felt it was worth it. It amused him to think that even if he lost his friendship with Seto, he no longer was about to be publicly humiliated by his intense fear of the dark. That made him feel better, but he was also strangely confident he would not lose Seto's friendship.

Seto did not speak at all, but Katsuya felt the look in his eyes expressed his murderous rage clearly enough. Katsuya's unaffected expression infuriated Seto more, but for the time being, Seto was stuck, which he hated perhaps more than anything. Seto turned back to the girl and felt every bit of irritation he ever had for Katsuya in his entire life all at once. The girl bowed as deeply as she could in the small compartment and lifted up, her eyes wide. Katsuya wasn't sure because of the dimness of the room, but it seemed as if she might start crying.

"Mr. Seto Kaiba, sir!" she sniffed, "I'm sorry, but it's such an honor to meet you. Please, I'm Setsuko Kaibana," she bowed again but did not lift herself this time; the ride started to move. "I just wanted to say hello and tell you how deeply I admire you. Mr. Jounouchi was so kind to invite me. It was too much, really, but I'm sure I'll never be happier than I am this moment. I'm so glad to have met you in person, thank you both. I won't say another word, this was more than enough. Thank you so much."

She sat up and covered her mouth with her hands and looked very close to tears. Seto felt every awkwardness possible and did not at all know how to respond. Katsuya found it kind of touching and was happy for her, but felt infinitely more excited at how Seto was responding. Seto was now pressed thigh and shoulders with Katsuya, and Katsuya could not see his face, but imagined it hard-pressed and extremely uncomfortable. Katsuya nudged him hard in the side when he didn't respond. Seto was sure in any other situation he would have not hesitated to break Katsuya's arm, but public reputation insisted.

"This worthless idiot has extended a courtesy that does not belong to him in an attempt to lessen his own shame; I would never thank him for anything. I'm sorry for your trouble," Seto said quietly to her through gritted teeth. The ride entered the pitch-black entryway and the eerie music began playing louder. Katsuya had leaned onto the side of the side of the cart and was perhaps most glad that at that time he felt infinitely more like laughing than crying. No matter what Seto called him, Seto couldn't change the fact that he was stuck.

Feeling more like laughing than crying was short-lived for Katsuya. As soon as the cart entered the pitch black entryway Seto's hand was around Katsuya's throat and his breath was pushing onto Katsuya's lips. The voice that narrated the ride boomed out of the loudspeakers around them and muffled Seto's whispered, but enraged, speech.

"So, now you think because I tolerate you that you can force me into meeting your little friends whenever you want? How typical. If I wasn't sure someone would notice your still, lifeless body in the cart at the end of this ride, so help me I would kill you right now. You had _no_ right to invite her here."

Katsuya's hands pushed desperately against Seto's forearm and he gasped slightly, hoping that Seko could not hear him. Although for a moment he bitterly thought about making a scene so that maybe she'd know more about how Seto really was. Katsuya managed to dig his fingers into the soft spot in Seto's forearm and was released.

"Fuck you, you stuck-up prick," Katsuya hissed quietly, grabbing Seto by the shirt collar and pulled his face closer. "I don't even _know _her, I just said that so you wouldn't hate her just because she wanted to say _hello _to you. If you're not too good to go out with _me_, I know that's not gonna fucking kill you. Stop being such a brat,"

Seto was taken slightly aback by Katsuya's strong refute. He felt a weird tingle in his chest and went to respond, but felt a light clutch on the other side of his shirt and stopped. He looked out and saw holograms of ghosts coming out of the walls and became aware of the loud eerie music that was playing. He had not realized in his rage that they were already well into the ride. The girl seemed to be shaking and murmuring to herself, obviously afraid.

Katsuya had released Seto's shirt and taken physically to himself, aside from the fact that Seto was still nearly pushed onto him from trying to be as far away from the girl as possible. For several moments Seto was still enraged and disgusted that he was trapped between two people he would gladly spill innocent blood to be away from, but he could not move. In time Seko became less apprehensive and had set her right side fully against Seto just slightly for protection. She was shaking enough for Seto to notice and he felt repulsed that another human was in contact with him without his forthright consent, but he did feel sorry for her. If Katsuya had not invited her she would not have had to suffer through what Seto considered an abominably boring excuse for a haunted house.

Amid the silence between the two of them Katsuya too became aware of his surroundings and lost much of his nerve. Things were jumping around corners almost constantly and the music was shrill and nerve-wrecking. He clutched Seto's forearm absentmindedly for reassurance, looked around nervously, and flinched hard every time anything moved. Katsuya had sunk slightly into the seat and Seto's legs were still pressed hard against him, so he was surrounded on all sides except forward. His back was no longer exposed, but he still did not feel safe. He swallowed hard, his mouth dry, and found himself focused entirely on what was happening around him.

Suddenly the air was filled with low groans, harsh whispers, and soft cries, but then a constant croaking that began to grow louder and louder. Suddenly they all were plunged into absolute darkness and Seto felt two sharp tugs of trembling hands on opposite sides of his body. Seto decided that Katsuya was infinitely more pathetic than this younger girl, but somehow felt himself still drawn to sit closer to Katsuya than to her. He had not moved from crushing himself against Katsuya's legs in an attempt to evade physical contact with the unfamiliar female, and felt no desire to remove himself. He did not particularly _like _being in physical contact with Katsuya, at least not most of the time, but… his mind wandered back to that night for the first time since before he'd arrived at the park. He suddenly felt unbearably close to Katsuya, but to retreat from him was to get closer to the girl, which was to be avoided at the cost of his own life.

Suddenly a holographic figure began to pull itself out of the floor. The ride had completely stopped and the croaking sound had filled the room. Both Seko and Katsuya had begun to clutch so hard to Seto that he was becoming numb where they had started digging into his skin. The hologram was a girl, and by the looks of it, she had been brutally murdered. Her eyes were hollowed out and her jaw disfigured. She crawled slowly towards the front of the cart and both Katsuya and Seko pressed their bodies hard to Seto's in anticipation. Katsuya had made a deeply anxious sound in his throat and pressed his face into the side of Seto's shoulder, unable to convince himself to calm down. Seko screamed and flung herself at Seto's left arm as the hologram crawled over the crest of the cart.

Without thinking at all, Seto leaned his head down until he vaguely brushed temples with Katsuya and rested his head there. "Keep your eyes closed," he whispered against Katsuya's cheek bone. Katsuya's throat had closed and he could not take in a normal breath for several moments. He swallowed, his throat still painfully dry; he was shaking slightly and could not calm himself. Seto's shoulder was warm and Katsuya could feel the slightest part of his breath brush perfectly even against the side of his face. Katsuya felt embarrassed, knowing Seto wasn't frightened at all and that he had managed to win despite Katsuya's attempt at faulting him, but was grateful that Seto had made to ease his anxiety rather than mock him when it mattered. He did not know what to make of his immediate feelings, so he did not move, lest he ruin it.

Seto peered into the darkness, focusing on the faint glow of the hologram in his peripheral view as it crawled past them towards the rest of the carts. After hearing most of the other passengers scream and listening to the croaking die down, they were all returned to complete darkness for a moment before the ride started up and they began moving again. The loud, eerie music returned and other ghosts floated around, moaning and crying. Seto felt too comfortable to move, so he didn't. He did not feel a desire to displace himself until the darkness in the room lessened and they were pitched forward outside into the floodlights where they could safely exit their carts.

As Seto followed the girl out of their cart, he rubbed his cheek where it had grown warm against Katsuya's hair. He was entirely preoccupied with how unable he was to explain why he had done what he did. It had been the perfect moment to mock Katsuya for his immature weakness and he had completely ignored it in favor of- what? Making Katsuya feel better? Easing his fears? Seto felt all the ridiculousness of it and felt disgusted at how sentimental he was acting. He found himself mentally exhausted from confusion and irritation. When they had gotten out of the way of the departing group, he felt tested by the fact that he should be the one to speak.

Katsuya had opened his eyes languidly as he began to notice the change in light from the other side of his eyelids. Seto had already removed himself, not making any kind of scene by it, and Katsuya felt some mixture of confusion and unbelievable comfort. Seto had been so, well, _warm_, physically and emotionally. It was weird, but when Katsuya's thoughts wandered to the previous week, Katsuya supposed Seto's actions weren't _entirely _unfamiliar.

He followed Seto and his female doppelganger out of the cart and into the crowd. Seto had his familiar unreadable expression pasted on, but Katsuya felt there was some sense of irritation and confusion behind it. Aside from the girl and his usual impatience towards Katsuya, however, he didn't suspect it was for anything else.

Seko was blushing full-on and she fiddled with her hands awkwardly, shifting her balance between feet. When Seto stopped to face her, she bowed deeply again, rushing her speech.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Kaiba, sir. This moment has been perfect, I truly hope I was not too much trouble. You are my hero, I truly admire you so much and I'm the luckiest person who has ever lived. This has been the best day of my life, I must thank you so much for tolerating me. You are too gracious for words. I will never forget this as long as I live. Please take care, and thank you so much Mr. Jounouchi. Good-bye!"

She waved very briefly and covered her face with her hands. As she turned to run into the crowd, Katsuya was sure he had seen tears in her eyes. He had waved back as she turned, then turned himself to face Seto, who was already looking at him coldly. Katsuya looked away and pushed his hands back into his pockets.

"See? That wasn't so bad…" he started quietly, not entirely convinced of what he was saying himself.

Seto felt a small rush of adrenaline and felt amazed at realizing he really wanted to physically hurt Katsuya. He always wanted to hurt Katsuya, but never felt that actual urge to put his hands on him. He didn't want it badly enough to do it, but the urge was so rare he briefly considered giving in. He felt a little on edge because of this unfamiliar feeling and didn't want to make a decision hastily, so to temporarily avoid directly dealing with Katsuya, he promptly turned from him and walked into the crowd. The more time he had to himself, the better he could think of the best method for inflicting revenge.

Katsuya had waited nervously for Seto to respond, but Seto did not move for several moments, nor did his expression change. Then, of a sudden, Seto turned and disappeared behind a group of people. Katsuya shouted and rushed to follow him, not wanting to become separated in the huge park. Why Seto had not promptly exacted some kind of retaliation for what he had done, Katsuya wasn't sure. It was highly unlike Seto to turn away from getting even, especially now that Seko was not present. Confused, he kept his eyes on Seto's moving figure and followed him quickly until they were halfway across the park.


	5. Chapter 5

He finally caught up with Seto in a tall shadow cast by a bathroom building nearby. Seto had stopped in front of him and Katsuya had slowed down, walking the last few yards to reach him. As he was walking up, he opened his mouth somewhat breathlessly to ask what Seto was on about, but Seto turned around and punched him right in the jaw.

Katsuya had not a moment to expect the hit or to even react before Seto swung around to hit him. He shouted and staggered slightly backwards, his hand flying up to his jaw to hold where Seto's moderately weak fist had collided. He felt the familiar rush of a fight starting in his stomach and was excited, but annoyed, too.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked angrily, trying not to move his jaw too much. He shouldn't have asked because he knew, but still felt like it was childish for Seto to just burst out and punch him _now _rather than executing the blow when the time had been right. He found himself laughing, though, considering how weak Seto's punch had been. He wasn't sure if it was because Seto had hesitated, had decided to hold back, or naturally had a pathetic punch. Katsuya looked at Seto's thin arms briefly and laughed again, feeling like it would be doing Seto a favor to consider any of the previous possible reasons.

"That was a really shitty punch," Katsuya laughed. "Hell, I don't even think I'm mad." He considered that if a weak punch was all he got for Seto's extreme misery in the haunted house, he might even do it again if the opportunity ever arose.

Seto looked like he was about to speak, but Katsuya held up his free hand to interrupt him; he was still laughing. He swaggered over to Seto slowly, talking with his hands and being melodramatic.

"I get it. You're mad and you hate me for what I did. You're comfortable enough with me now to think you can start a fight, and you think that your tact and your mental _skill _or whatever is enough to make you win that fight, but I'm gonna tell you right now," he changed his tone slightly, becoming more serious. He pointed at Seto lazily, laughing through his nose, trying to compose himself. He put the back of his hand over his mouth and leaned over on his knee to support himself while laughing, unable to contain it. "You are too fucking skinny to be picking fights with me."

Seto stared, bewildered, not immediately knowing what to say. Katsuya's presumptive attitude and haughtiness had offended him into silence. Seto had been mad, but had only meant to essentially surprise Katsuya, not lay him out. He wanted to say something to defend himself, but was too annoyed at the fact that he felt it necessary to do so to even speak. Katsuya had put his hand on Seto's arm again for support, his laugh sputtering from behind his hand. Seto went to speak again, but Katsuya interrupted a second time.

"Don't try to talk game to me about your physical prowess, okay, that punch just flat out _sucked_," he laughed into his hand, unable to look Seto in the face at first. "If you want to start a fight with me, you're gonna have to-" he snorted, "-take some gym classes or something first." He lifted Seto's arm and squeezed it slightly, feeling no muscle mass at all. He severely fought back the overwhelming urge to laugh himself into an early grave.

Seto was again astounded into silence. He couldn't believe that Katsuya was being so familiar with him and so unbelievably arrogant about his fighting technique. He had been confident from Katsuya's stories that he was a good fighter, but Seto didn't feel that by punching Katsuya one time he had been in any way initiating a challenging fight. Then again, he hadn't tried. He was entirely unsure of how to approach Katsuya because he'd never in his life been approached with such open rudeness.

"Oh, man," Katsuya said, wiping the tears from his eyes; he was still laughing. He pat Seto on the shoulder before making to walk away. "Do yourself a favor and stick to the shit talking, all right?"

Before he knew it, Seto's second punch had landed on his jaw in the same place he'd been hit the first time. Katsuya cursed loudly as he hit the ground. He breathed in sharply through his nose; the second punch hurt significantly more than the first one.

After a moment of silence Katsuya dared to look up at Seto, knowing he had now made Seto very mad. Seto had never punched him in the face before and the caliber of force between the first and second punch made it clear that he had underestimated Seto, and then blindly insulted him. Seto was glowering above him, both of his fists clenched, with a very murderous look in his eyes.

"Do you _really _think someone with my reputation would go around being completely incapable of defending himself?" Seto asked, his voice cold and clear. This was the reaction that Katsuya had been expecting when Seto had first turned to look at him on the haunted house ride. Katsuya did not respond, feeling actually afraid of Seto for the first time in a while. He knew he'd taken it too far, but it was so easy to get a rise out of Seto sometimes, he could hardly resist it. _So much for trying to lay low_, the thought bitterly of himself.

Seto kneeled to push his knee into Katsuya's stomach, his expression still unbelievably unrelenting. Katsuya didn't aim to move his knee, even though it hurt, because it might incite Seto into killing him, which Katsuya felt was very possible. Seto got his face close to Katsuya's and waited until he had perfect eye contact to speak again. Katsuya felt physical pain at being directly in contact with such a terrible expression.

"Suffice it to say that you haven't _seen _me fight, and therefore have no room to assume. Since you're an insufferable idiot, this time I'm willing to let your inane mumbling pass as an _honest mistake_."

Seto breathed out the last two words with painful emphasis and Katsuya was sure he was going to die from how uncomfortable it was to be under the intense scrutiny of Seto when he was really pissed off. Before Seto had even spoken, he regretted sounding so familiar and making fun of him. Seto wasn't like Honda or Yuugi, he didn't know how to brush things off. Katsuya knew he would have to build a mental resistance against making fun of Seto if he didn't want to die prematurely, unless he could somehow manage to get him to take a joke. The latter seemed unlikely, but Katsuya _had _felt in getting to know Seto better that it became easier to paint Seto in a lighter tone without Seto throwing himself into a rage over being presumed normal.

Even as Seto was breathing down his neck, Katsuya felt that Seto was not on the edge- he was already cooling down. It wasn't in Seto's nature to stay mad if the other person submitted themselves readily, so he usually did. Katsuya rarely had to formally apologize because Seto took the silent submission as the placing of himself back in control, which was always obviously what he desired more than anything.

Apparently satisfied by Katsuya's slight nodding, Seto stood up and resumed his perfectly unaffected position. Katsuya waited on the ground a few moments to insure his safety, then got up and dusted himself off again.

"Don't do that again," Seto said threateningly, not moving to look in Katsuya's general direction.

Katsuya didn't say anything for several moments, then decided on continuing to defending himself. He didn't regret introducing the girl. It had really made her happy and Seto had lived through it. It hadn't been all bad and it was a lesson Seto could stand to learn.

"I know it makes you uncomfortable, but it's your fault. You make yourself unapproachable by acting like you're too good for everything. It's not that big of a deal to let _one_ person who admires you say hello, for fuck's sake…"

"My _time _is valuable and I do not like it being wasted by strangers and fan girls who think flattery and misguided obsession are going to get them anywhere with me. Regardless of how trivial _you _think it is, you still have no right to initiate it and I will not allow it!" Seto said loudly, scowling severely at Katsuya, his fists clenched again.

"So valuable you can afford to waste it on someone you used to hate, but not a girl who was in tears just by seeing you, just because you're _afraid _of some ulterior motive," Katsuya scoffed.

"To say that I hated you would imply that I cared enough about you to be actively affected in any way," Seto drawled. Katsuya gave him an angry stare, but did not take to the bait of changing the subject.

"Maybe I don't have the right," Katsuya said quietly, thinking for a moment. He scuffed the ground with his shoe and put his hands in his jacket pockets.

"You can still be so incredibly selfish sometimes," he laughed slightly. "I can't believe you think _every_ person out there who admires you or what you do is plotting to get your money or your company. There are a lot of shitheads who are, but not _everyone_. You don't know enough about people to know, but that girl _loved _you- not your bank account or your stocks, but _you_."

"She doesn't know anything _about_ me," Seto said defensively, gritting his teeth.

"And by your own design, I'm sure you can count on one hand how many people _do_ know anything about you!" Katsuya responded somewhat pleadingly, walking closer to Seto. "Being more appreciative of the people who try, despite how fucking irritating you are, would not kill you." He kicked the dirt again, turning at an angle from Seto.

"I wish you weren't such a cynical bastard." Katsuya mumbled after a minute or so of silence, turning completely away. He didn't feel like he was going to get anywhere with Seto a single moment in his life, so it felt stupid to argue, but he hated calling Seto a lost cause even more.

Seto felt himself habitually discrediting everything Katsuya said in his mind, but could not convince himself to fight further. When Seto's personal "problems" came into conversation, Katsuya would usually fight for a while, but back off in the end. He didn't persist in these fights as much as less personal ones. Seto considered this a good thing because he was not about to let Katsuya dictate his actions, but he did feel a fraction of Katsuya's concern.

The idea of being more open to people with which he was not familiar disgusted him; he didn't see anything to gain by it, but did see the many dangers. Katsuya did not understand the complexity of this situation because Katsuya had not experienced Seto's social experience firsthand, so that much made his argument ignorant. Despite Katsuya constantly defending others, however, in a way he was also defending the more humanized part of Seto that was often neglected.

Seto really could count all the people that knew him well on one hand, and it was just Mokuba. Katsuya had been introduced into some kind of emotional foyer in Seto's mind, but did not tread much further. If Katsuya found out more about Seto it was often due to stumbling around in the dark, rather than actively investigating. Seto found himself surprised in thinking about it, that Katsuya rarely ever pushed him to behave differently unless it involved "people who were trying to be nice" or was "for his own good".

Katsuya turned to look over at Seto, who seemed lost in thought. He had no idea what Seto was thinking, but the prolonged silence made it clear that he wasn't going to argue anymore. Katsuya assumed that everything he'd said had gone in one ear and out the other. He sighed, stepping over to Seto and nudging him in the side of the chest with his shoulder. Seto looked straight at him, affronted by the vague gesture, but did not move or speak. Katsuya looked slightly up at him for a moment, not speaking either.

"So," he started after a few moments. He glanced away from Seto, slightly smiling. "You wanna… ride something else?"

Seto immediately felt a vague sense of uneasiness. He had been too preoccupied by his thoughts to completely grasp what Katsuya said at first, but when he thought about it, he felt that same suggestive inflection that made him completely unsure of what he was really being asked.

Katsuya looked back at him and Seto felt his throat close. The light casting shadows over half of his face, his half-smile, his hands pushed hard into his pockets, and his close proximity made Seto uncomfortable, but also suggested something he could not name, something that made him feel amazingly close to an edge he could not identify. He paused and swallowed, his mind suddenly playing back the feeling of Katsuya's hand on his exposed ribcage from that night. He didn't immediately answer.

"Neither of us got what we wanted from the last two rides," Katsuya continued. "Let's find something we can both enjoy."

Katsuya started off out of the shadow and into the light. He looked around and something caught his eye. He turned back when he noticed Seto was not following and waited for him to move.

"Are you coming?" he said loudly. It seemed to break Seto out of his trance, and he walked forward, his expression becoming more serious.

"What do you have in mind?" Seto asked in his most uninterested voice, trying to push everything but the immediate present from his mind. Katsuya motioned behind himself and grinned wickedly. Seto followed his motion and his lip twitched just slightly, suggesting a smile.

"You're on."

* * *

><p>Everyone who piled into their respective seats on the bumper cars quickly learned to literally steer clear of the screaming blond boy and his tall, brooding friend- or was it enemy? As soon as the ride had started up, Seto had plowed his car into the front of Katsuya's and Katsuya had burst out laughing. Seto told him to laugh while he could because he was about to be dominated. Katsuya was excited to play, too, but had tried to explain to Seto that no one could "win" bumper cars because all the cars went the same speed. Seto did not listen and got incredibly worked up anyway.<p>

After the first blow, Seto immediately felt that the ride could not come close to sating his exponentially growing desire to obliterate Katsuya's fighting spirit. He yearned to break off the car's control wire so he could make it move faster- the faster the car went, the more damage it would do. The small bump of Katsuya's red car against his white one was not enough; the controlled car did not have enough power to give him the edge he wanted.

A few times Katsuya simply stopped his car and let Seto hit him because he was laughing too hard. In noticing that everyone around them stayed out of their way, he could not help but notice the attention Seto drew to himself. He got excited unbelievably quickly and would incite Katsuya with insults if Katsuya did not fight back quickly enough. Tears in the sides of Katsuya's eyes from wheezing, he would drive his little car forward and stop before Seto could even collide with him. Seto looked like a bloodthirsty hunter catching sight of the perfect stag on the first day of hunting season; it was too much. By the end of the minute-and-a-half ride, Katsuya had lost control of himself and had to be asked to leave his car because he was taking so long.

After removing himself from the car and staggering outside to laugh- sure he'd laughed more in this one night than any in his life- he could not even try to speak to Seto. Seto's eyes were wider, dilated, and he was breathing harder, albeit through his nose. He looked more alert, as if ready to be attacked at any moment. Katsuya could not fathom why Seto had taken the ride so seriously, but could not help reveling in the hilarity of Seto's reaction. Seto reprimanded him for laughing so much, but he couldn't stop.

"You must have lost your mind from how sorely you just lost," Seto said sternly. Katsuya wailed into the night, clutching his sides, desperate for air.

"For the last time, you cannot win at bumper cars!" he shouted, tears rolling down his face.

"Says the one who lost," Seto replied shortly, unwavering. He crossed his arms across his chest, breathing deeply through his nose. Katsuya waved his hand, unable to argue with Seto because he still did not have control of his laughter.

Katsuya walked forward, trying to get away from the bumper cars. Every time he saw them in the corner of his eye, he started laughing again and knew his body couldn't handle much more. He walked them into the crowd and Seto followed behind silently, still breathing hard for a few minutes longer. Katsuya tried his best to avoid looking at Seto lest he start laughing again. In time he wandered to a food stand to purchase a bottled water and gave one to Seto, who looked confused.

"Why are _you_ buying something for _me?_" He asked loudly. "My coffee costs more than you gross in a fiscal year."

Katsuya glared at him, downing half of his bottle at once.

"Sorry for being a considerate friend," he said stiffly, wiping his mouth off on his sleeve and shivering slightly. "Remind me not to do it ever again." He rolled his eyes and continued walking.

Seto followed behind him and looked down at the bottle. He noted that it was not a regular bottled water, but one of the more expensive brands of spring water.

"Why did you get me something different?" He asked nonchalantly, unscrewing the cap and making to take a drink. Katsuya glanced back to him briefly before shrugging and turning his head back. He didn't stop walking.

"Figured you'd bitch if I didn't get you the best one they had."

"But I didn't ask you to get me anything," Seto responded blankly, putting the cap back on, his eyebrows creasing. Katsuya stopped and looked right at him, his eyebrows lifted as if amazed that he was still being questioned over something so trivial. Seto stopped, too.

"Then I guess that makes me _really_ considerate," Katsuya said almost questioningly, as if he didn't understand why he'd done it any more than Seto did. He turned back around and kept walking, his silence ending the discussion. Seto saw his left hand in his pocket and his right swinging awkwardly by his hip with the cheap water bottle in his hand. He wasn't sure what to think.


	6. Chapter 6

I feel like this chapter is horrific, I've been trying to fix it for weeks. I apologize! The next chapter will be less wonky, I hope. x

* * *

><p>They wandered aimlessly around the park for a while, Katsuya leading them. They didn't speak for a some time, both content to think on his own until the situation deemed it necessary for them to speak again. At times Katsuya would slow down and walk beside Seto, their arms nearly touching; other times he was content with glancing around every few moments to make sure Seto was still in sight.<p>

Katsuya stopped briefly to throw his water bottle away, then rubbed his jaw slightly where Seto had hit him; it wasn't swollen much at all, it just felt weird. He pushed his hand back into his pocket where it usually sat and spent some time thinking about Seto's punch. He almost laughed to himself having suddenly remembered Seto flipping him over in the dark the week before- Katsuya had known from that moment that Seto had a strong grip, but it had totally slipped his mind. Not only that, but before Katsuya had left the house that evening he'd told himself not to provoke Seto, but that's exactly what he had done. He felt more ridiculous by the moment at how outlandish his rant had been. He really had deserved that punch.

His thoughts lingered over how it was still so easy to go back to fighting with Seto when he wanted to, but they had fallen into whatever their current relationship was almost as easily when they had allowed themselves to, and this newer relationship was sooner based on mutual passivity than violence. He was astounded that Seto wasn't still furious with him, but in considering he had been punched twice in the face, perhaps Seto felt he'd gotten even. It didn't seem to Katsuya that Seto had become less intense with his threats or that his needs had become any less direct and absolute, but Seto tolerated him with more exact, personal execution when it was necessary. Even when Katsuya was getting on his nerves, Seto seemed to deal with it in a way that was almost _nicer _than before_. _Katsuya got a strange feeling suddenly and wanted strongly to turn around and look at Seto, but he resisted. He didn't want Seto to misunderstand his motions and think his jaw was bothering him or that he had something to say about being hit.

* * *

><p>Seto noticed when Katsuya threw his water bottle away that he rubbed his jaw briefly, feeling vaguely surprised that he wasn't more irritated at Katsuya than he was. It seemed Katsuya had accepted his punishment and the lesson was learned, and that had apparently been enough for Seto. He felt more irritated by the fact that he was so easily satisfied by such a small punishment than he did at what Katsuya had done, but he didn't have the energy to pursue it further. The fact that he was irritated at all was causing even more irritation, so he decided to let it be over with, which he felt might be the fastest he'd ever let anything go in his life. Seto kept well to himself and did not think about anything in particular for some time. He was uninterested in everything around him and mostly found himself following Katsuya around by keeping him in plain sight.<p>

In following Katsuya around Seto did notice that Katsuya had a large tendency to keep his hands in his pockets and look at the sky a lot. It wasn't as if he was able see much because the artificial light emitting from the park drowned out almost all of the sky in a glow, but the notion implied that Katsuya had a lot on his mind. Since Katsuya never said anything, however, and Seto would not ask what it was Katsuya was thinking about, they both remained quiet.

When Seto noted the time, he called lightly to Katsuya (via "bonkotsu") and they redirected their route toward the food court to wait for Mokuba and Shizuka. As expected, the two of them were ten minutes late, which Mokuba insisted was due to being unexpectedly cut out of line when they were sure they were going to be the next ride. Neither Seto or Katsuya was annoyed by it, as they had reached a comfortable state of conversation or silence. They felt no need to rush particularly anything, but both acted mildly offended for integrity's sake.

Mokuba and Shizuka both inquired as to their brother's welfare, to which both brothers responded by mumbling vague approval and nodding, never signifying anything specific and certainly not seeming more than satisfied. Each was well trained in redirecting conversation to the importance of the younger sibling's enjoyment rather than his own. They all agreed to separate for another hour and then meet outside the park to disperse. As Mokuba and Shizuka disappeared back into the crowd, Katsuya began to feel something like real appreciation for Seto's role as a brother. It made him feel closer to Seto knowing that they had something that important to them in common, something more personal than Duel Monsters. Likewise, Seto would not admit to it, but he didn't feel annoyed at noticing the resemblance of his own actions in relation to Mokuba and Katsuya's actions with his younger sister. It made the situation less awkward.

After the younger siblings left, Katsuya had taken to leaning back on one of the tables in the courtyard and had leaned his head back to look at the sky. It was full dark and chilly and he'd moved to put his arms across his chest to prevent himself from shivering. Seto stood straight and tall, his arms traditionally across his chest, but he showed no sign of being cold.

"What do we do for the next hour, now that we're out of tricks?" Katsuya asked, shaking slightly.

It seemed to Seto that every time Katsuya asked him a question, he could no longer rely on his mind to produce a safe answer immediately. He momentarily regretted not paying enough attention to Katsuya to note if it was in _all _of Katsuya's questions, just questions asked him, or just questions about certain things, but that slightest hint in Katsuya's voice that suggested his mind was on _other things _really vexed Seto. It was not the potential suggestion that bothered him most, although he thought it should be, just that he could not confirm if it was intentional without asking Katsuya, which he would never do. There was no simple way to know. Furthermore, what he would do if he _did_ know, one way or another, was an entirely different story.

Seto did not respond immediately because he did not readily have an answer, he didn't feel responsible for guiding them in any particular way. He looked at Katsuya a moment and was still. He noticed Katsuya's jaw quiver and watched his breath puff out like smoke, the curve of his Adam's apple disappeared into the neck of his coat. Katsuya's jacket hardly looked well-insulated and Seto thought he would have found it funny if it hadn't been so sad, as it was probably the only coat Katsuya owned. From Katsuya's personal reports, he had a job and was making his way well enough, but he saved everything beyond what was necessary for basic survival. Seto had to give him credit for being so frugal, but it was still hardly humane to go around shivering like an idiot when at least an upgraded jacket couldn't possibly be _expensive. _Seto was sure the bottled water was the first thing he'd seen Katsuya purchase for himself since Seto had begun to associate with him regularly.

Katsuya stood up straight and broke his grip around his stomach to run his hands through his hair. Seto obviously wasn't going to make any suggestions for what they should do next, so he decided to try for trivial conversation.

"It's getting pretty cold," he said, smiling. His breath puffed out of his nose like a dragon and he rubbed his hands together. Seto found it slightly amazing that he was getting cold so quickly- or had Katsuya been shivering before and he just had not noticed?

Seto thought of the weather, but did not feel uncomfortable himself. His long sleeved shirt was well-built to resist cold and wind, and besides, he was incredibly used to the cooler temperatures anyway. He glanced at Katsuya's trembling fingers as they were taken from his hair and replaced under his upper arms to keep warm, then looked again over Katsuya's single-layer coat and his narrow waist. Considering how athletic Katsuya was, he looked pitiful shivering in what felt to Seto like the slightest of colds. Seto could not help but want to make him warm somehow if for nothing else but to make him look less pathetic.

However, he found it hard not be reminded of Katsuya's warm mouth and the touch of Katsuya's hand that he particularly could not seem to rid his thoughts of. From anything that had happened that night, perhaps Katsuya's hand on his stomach had been the most profound- it had sat on his ribcage so idly and yet had felt so personal it embarrassed Seto to think about. He couldn't remember the last time someone had touched his bare skin that way. Katsuya's fingers had burned like hot iron, but because they were cold, as he could see they were now. Seto found himself preoccupied entirely with the thought of them when he noticed and he nearly lost the will to respond to Katsuya at all. His own fingers twitched over the cap of the water bottle that hung loosely at his side and he swallowed, nodding dumbly.

Katsuya suddenly laughed lightly to himself, putting a hand over his mouth. Seto looked at him, focused, and said nothing. His expression was unyielding, despite the slight wave of panic he felt at Katsuya laughing so suddenly after his thoughts had wandered into what he felt to be inappropriate territory.

"I was about to ask you how the hell you're not cold, but then I remembered your room's like a like a damn mortuary freezer,"

Seto's expression did not change at all, but since Katsuya had been looking right at him when he said it, Katsuya was reminded strongly of that night. He did his best to keep his expression from becoming horrified, feeling he'd severely embarrassed them both by so openly referencing Seto's room and the night he had spent in it, but kept still long enough so that when he turned away, it did not seem too sudden. He was grateful that his face was already flushed from the cold, because it had certainly started to burn from shame.

Seto felt a keen sense of embarrassment at realizing both of their minds had been on the same subject and that the topic was now actively threatening to break to the surface of conversation. He sacrificed the argument about keeping his room cold momentarily to avoid it going any further.

"Mokuba swears that for all my effort to quell the common cold, I'm going to get hypothermia instead," he said suddenly, his voice light.

Katsuya turned around and looked at him, unable to stop himself from appearing surprised. He laughed, not able to tell if Seto was continuing the subject to get closer to it or further away. Regardless, he was grateful that Seto did not allow things to drop into mortifying awkwardness by saying nothing and thus admitting that he had caught the reference.

"He's probably right, you know. That place isn't fit for human life," Katsuya said knowingly, walking around Seto.

"Does it need to be?" Seto asked, following behind him as Katsuya lead them back into the crowd. He felt strange at having responded so readily without really thinking.

"Well, you're a human, aren't you?" Katsuya asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked behind.

Seto thought more about his answer before speaking this time.

"If I can be untouched by bacteria and infection so long as I sleep, my absolute comfort is not necessary," he responded, pushing his hands into his pants pockets. Katsuya internally laughed at Seto avoiding his question.

"So, you get the flu once a year, big deal," Katsuya said, rolling his eyes. He slowed to walk beside Seto. "At this rate when you finally _do_ get the flu, which is inevitable- being a bastard does not make you immune-," he pointed out, "it's definitely going to kill you because your body isn't trained to handle it. You probably don't even _have_ an immune system in that skinny body of yours."

"Bonkotsu, the flu virus evolves and makes several new strains each season. Getting it once does not prepare the body to deal with it a second time."

"But you're not prepared for _anything. _Does your body know how to deal with sickness at all? I don't think I've ever even see you clear your throat, much less cough," Katsuya said.

"You're acting as if I've never been sick before,"

"It doesn't count if you were a kid, all kids get sick," Katsuya paused his sentence and looked at Seto as they walked, "_Have_ you ever gotten sick?"

"Yes," Seto said matter-of-factly, feeling rather silly at the feeling as if he were admitting to having been sick as if it were unthinkable of him. "It's a ridiculous waste of time and energy, so I know exactly what it is I'm fighting."

Thinking to himself that he'd love to see Seto in a such a vulnerable state as being ill, Katsuya responded huffily, "_It's_ _still _ridiculous for your room to be that cold."

"Since it's _my _room, I don't see why you're so concerned. No one is asking you to sleep in it."

Katsuya's face felt warmer at the mention of sleeping in Seto's room. No, he hadn't been asked, really, but he had been invited…

Luckily, the exact ride he had been hoping to find stood just before them so he didn't have to answer Seto or face what he was thinking about.

"Here, since you're so intent on "winning" something, let's play something you can actually _win_." Katsuya said happily, looking up at the sign.

Seto looked up at the sign and over towards Katsuya, his teeth slightly showing in a smile.

"You really want to challenge me to this?" Seto asked, following Katsuya to get in line.

"I don't see why not," Katsuya shrugged.

"You're going to lose again."

Katsuya rolled his eyes at the "again".

"We'll see."

* * *

><p>For the remainder of time they spent waiting in line they didn't speak. Katsuya seemed to never stop shivering and Seto regretted the fact that he was perfectly comfortable just because Katsuya was so obviously miserable. There was nothing he could do to make Katsuya look less pathetic without stepping across the boldest line between personal boundaries that existed in his living memory. He hated himself for thinking about physical contact with Katsuya at all, but over time he found it was more trouble to actively fight the memory of Katsuya's hands than to swallow it whole and accept it, but insist on ignoring it anyway.<p>

When their turn came around they entered the dimly lit room and climbed into a cart as they were instructed. Seto looked behind them carefully before entering the cart to make sure no one was following him in and insisted he get in first. Katsuya understood what he was doing immediately laughed hard into his elbow, trying to stay quiet. After a mean glare and Katsuya chewing his lip to prevent himself from laughing, they situated themselves in the seat and put the safety belts on, then pulled the protective bar down. They each pulled out the designated plastic guns from the respective holster cups and exchanged glances in the dark.

The room was robot themed and the objective was simply to aim the gun at the target placed on the moving pieces through the ride and pull the trigger; each bulls-eye hit would award points and at the end of the ride everyone got to compare scores. Katsuya felt that if Seto was still so competitive at a children's game (one that could not be won) like bumper cars, he was bound to get extreme with a laser point-and-shoot.

Katsuya was sitting on the outside of the vehicle for the first time that night because Seto requested to be inside, the reason he claimed "to be closer to the targets". Katsuya had stuck his tongue out because of the obvious try at an advantage, but agreed anyway. Katsuya was leaned back with his left arm on the back of their cart, the gun held loosely in his right hand over his knee. He looked at Seto, who was staring straight forward with his arms in his lap, both hands on his gun already wrapped in the correct position. Katsuya smiled; it was like Seto to prepare himself immediately, as the time when they would be cast forward towards the targets was unknown. Seto did not do anything unprepared.

At this thought, Katsuya felt a nagging idea that perhaps Seto really had prepared to kiss him, Seto's behavior was just so predictable. However, in considering everything that had happened over the course of the night, Katsuya still could not call himself sure because of the equal likelihood that it had been entirely random. Seto was here with him at an amusement park- one that was mediocre and not related to Duel Monsters-, had punched him in the face for the first time, and had perhaps said more words to him in the past hour and half than Seto usually said to him all day, not to mention how considerate he had been at the haunted house.

The longer Katsuya thought about it the more he felt like Seto was just as capable of doing a few uncharacteristic things when he felt like it as doing his usual painfully systematic things most of the time. Maybe this was the release valve for Seto's pressure system; they way they built each other up and broke each other down seemed to fit just like any other circuit in Seto's life, and yet was interesting enough to keep him on edge. Regardless of what had happened, Katsuya did not feel the need to distance himself; if anything, he wanted to know more.

Katsuya then considered that perhaps Seto didn't realize he was acting any different; that maybe he himself was just becoming integrated into Seto's usual system, and along with him, his notable unpredictability. He felt stupid, but for a few moments without any direct explanation, Katsuya couldn't stop smiling.


	7. Chapter 7

The more seriously Seto took shooting the little moving robot targets, the more Katsuya was forced into taking action himself. Seto had a surprisingly good aim and Katsuya often found himself wondering if there was a game Seto _wasn't_ good at, but couldn't think on it too long or else he knew he'd fall behind. He did briefly consider that no one else on the ride could have possibly been enjoying themselves because Seto was hitting all of the targets he was allowed. Fortunately, the ride creators had planned for sharp shooters and forced a delay on the acceptance of shots. Seto periodically became emotionally hostile due to the knowledge that he was hitting more targets than he was getting credit for- it made him long for a real gun. He thought bitterly over how insignificant amusement parks such as the one they were visiting just weren't as technology advanced as Kaibaland and thus did nothing to feed his lust for winning.

In looking at the number by Seto's gun-holding cup on his side of the ride Katsuya noted that he was ahead and resolved to try a dirty tactic to get Seto to fall behind. Using his left shoulder, he shoved into Seto, causing him to lose his aim on a particularly difficult target, and Katsuya took it in a bulls-eye. The further away the targets were, the more points they were worth, and thus Katsuya took advantage of Seto's brief confusion to gather three of them, and they were soon tied. Seto was enraged with Katsuya for shoving him and quickly pushed back, feeling impatient enough with both Katsuya and the ride to feel no apprehension in getting physical. He was very surprised that Katsuya had resorted to such a low blow as he'd never seen Katsuya cheat at anything, but distractions definitely counted as cheating.

Considering it just one of the risks of the game, Seto swallowed and accepted internally that he was going to fight back just as rough if Katsuya didn't want to fight fairly. He wasn't about to back down and Katsuya was very clearly challenging him to step up his game. Unfortunately, Katsuya was hitting all of the targets on _his _side of the cart and had leaned almost entirely into Seto's lap to do so, so Seto found it hard to aim for anything. Seeing Katsuya's intense face in the dark, closing an eye to aim, and feeling Katsuya's warmth over his legs made Seto hesitate for a moment. Unsure of why he had hesitated, he quickly switched his gun to his left hand and used his right to shove Katsuya back by the shoulder. He told Katsuya loudly to shoot out his own side of the cart, at which Katsuya laughed aloud and did as he was told.

Trying to find more ways to irritate Seto into faltering, Katsuya chewed his lower lip and decided to act again. He pushed hard against the bottom of the cart, extending his legs as far as he could and shoving his back all the way against Seto's side. He shot the targets on his own side of the cart, but had completely squished Seto against his own to where Seto's upper body was bent over and slightly out the side. Seto smiled wickedly, nearly laughing, musing over what a jackass Katsuya was being, but couldn't deny that it made the game more fun. He shot all of the immediate targets on his side as they rounded a corner, taking all of Katsuya's attempts to foil him in stride, and listened contentedly to the sighs of dismay from the children in carts in front of and behind them who didn't stand a chance.

To those who took notice of them, and there were many, they seemed incredibly immature, as they were two college-aged men having a physical confrontation in the cart of a laser shooting game, whipping their plastic guns around and fighting for targets, despite the fact that a person leisurely walking could quickly surpass the moving vehicle. Too soon for each of them, however, the ride was over and Katsuya felt it safe to release the pressure of having shoved himself against Seto as hard as possible. When Katsuya moved Seto briefly felt uncomfortable at the loss of heat, as Katsuya had been leaned against him almost the entire ride. He straightened himself slowly and replaced his gun in the cup, looking down at his score and grinning maliciously. In the end Seto had won, but not by much, which created the endless argument of "I won,", "Yes, but not by much,", "but I still won,", "Yes, but by an insignificant amount,", etc., which they kept up all the way out into the open air.

"It's astounding that you attacked me like that, that was the most petty maneuver I've ever seen," Seto started.

"_Attacked_?" Katsuya said incredulously, lifting his eyebrows and placing his hands in his jacket pockets as he strolled them out of the exit area. "That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think? I was just messing around,"

"_Messing around _is hardly the proper terminology for outright _cheating, _bonkotsu, and you still _lost! _And yes, _attacked_,"

"Would the game have really been that fun had I not stepped it up a notch? It's not like it could seriously have been challenging for either of us if we just sat around and played fair and square, and I didn't_ attack _you,"

"You pushed me to distract me, then threw yourself on top of me to steal my targets, then crushed me against the side of the cart so I wouldn't be able to shoot. I certainly wouldn't call that a _low-profile strategy_," Seto said, equally astonished.

Katsuya laughed aloud, admitting to himself that he had been a little ridiculous.

"Well, it's not like you told me to stop," Katsuya responded, not really knowing how to defend his actions. He chewed his lip slightly and glanced only briefly into Seto's eyes. The infamous lift in his voice rang loudly in Seto's ears.

Seto swallowed heavily, hearing his heartbeat in his head. He had a feeling Katsuya really wasn't being suggestive on purpose, but Katsuya had certainly made it a habit by perfect accident. Even though Seto felt he didn't know how to outwardly respond, his body seemed to know well enough by always making his heart race and giving him such a sense of uneasiness he almost always lost his desire to speak. That was something he definitely didn't know how to fight.

"If I had told you to stop, I know you would not have listened because you have the willing attentiveness of a five-year-old," Seto started. Katsuya looked at him, feeling less embarrassed by what he'd said, and smiled.

"Besides, when you're playing a game, you can't surrender just because the other person decides to cheat because he's naturally a very pathetic loser who has to resort to petty tactics for a chance to win," he continued darkly, as Katsuya's smile turned into a stuck out tongue and a nasty expression. "If you're good, you'll win no matter what."

Katsuya scoffed at how matter-of-factly Seto spoke, but felt elated at how the night had gone overall. His face wasn't hurting much, but even that had been some kind of weird development with Seto. Seto was acting like a person- getting excited, frustrated, insulting Katsuya, asking questions, and just being more relaxed. It made Katsuya feel good to experience a part of Seto that no one aside from Mokuba had probably ever seen.

They didn't have too much more time to waste, but they had enough to do one more lengthy thing, if either of them could think of something to do. Katsuya wasn't as cold as he had been before because he had pressed against Seto for a few minutes, and his heart was now pumping with adrenaline. He was in such a good mood, despite Seto's little jabs, that he didn't know what to do with all of his energy.

* * *

><p>They had walked to the opposite end of the park because Katsuya had thought of something he'd like to do, and Seto never made any move to lead them. They reached the gate and both looked up, the room was at the top of the tower and still spinning.<p>

"Mind if we ride the panorama tower?" Katsuya said, pointing. "I haven't been on it in forever and we've got plenty of time to kill,"

Seto nodded once and crossed his arms gently. They waited in silence for the ride to come down. Only a handful of people walked out of it when it reached the ground and it seemed they were the only ones interested in getting on. Both considered this likely because the park would be closing soon and people were probably more interested in finding one last thrilling ride to get on before the night was over.

They walked into the room and around until they were directly opposite the entrance, and sat facing the window that would be looking outside the park when it rose to full view. Katsuya was a little surprised to find that Seto sat down in the seat exactly beside him, rather than in any of the other seats, all of which were available. Katsuya had slid halfway down his seat and shoved his hands into his pants pockets, feeling very content. He watched politely, but not _too _attentively, as Seto sat, neatly crossed his legs, and took a lose hold of his upper arms. Seto sat perfectly upright and said nothing, so Katsuya looked forward and said nothing, too.

As the ride began to rise, Katsuya snuck a glance up at Seto, who was still looking perfectly straight forward, his face signifying absolutely no emotion aside from looking generally relaxed. In the few minutes he had to think, Katsuya pondered on everything that had happened, all the things they both had said, and wondered where everything was going to go.

Katsuya nudged Seto briefly in the arm with his shoulder, not removing his hands from his pockets. He looked at the floor, feeling it would be uncomfortable if he looked Seto in the face when they were sitting so close together. He swallowed, trying to calm himself down so he could speak, but was nervous thinking that Seto's body was only a few inches to his right and Seto's regal attitude was still perfectly intact even when he was completely at rest. It was so difficult to approach Seto in a casual manner when Seto never seemed to be totally unassuming.

When he was nudged in the side, Seto made a small noise to acknowledge that Katsuya had his attention and looked down at him to see only fluffy blond hair. After all the rides they had gone on and as many times as Katsuya had ran his hands through it, it was certainly looking windswept. Why Katsuya wasn't looking at him, however, he wasn't sure, but he certainly seemed comfortable enough- slouched in his chair like a Neanderthal, Seto thought disdainfully. He briefly considered that they were alone and felt a strong pricking sense of panic that Katsuya might bring up what had happened the previous week. He still had no idea what to say, so even if Katsuya did the hard part by breaking the thick ice that had formed, he would not be able to ease the awkwardness of the situation at all.

"Hey, uh…" Katsuya said quietly, switching the position of his legs to find a way to get out some of his anxious energy. "I wanted to thank you for coming, again. I'm glad you did. I had a really good time."

He couldn't stop a slight blush from rising to his face. He felt more than anything in that moment that he just wanted Seto to listen, to be as accepting as he'd been in the haunted house- he didn't want a response, just for Seto to acknowledge what he said. Thanking Honda or Yuugi would have been easier because they were more laid-back, but thanking Seto felt like thanking your boss for hiring you in the first place- it seemed like formality was necessary.

Seto felt a little embarrassed just by the sentiment of what Katsuya had said, but it was certainly not as embarrassing as what he'd feared Katsuya was going to say. He swallowed, and felt it a little silly that Katsuya would thank him at all. Katsuya had been punched in the face, embarrassed, insulted, and had lost two games over the course of the night; how he'd managed to have any kind of good time at all, Seto was briefly unsure. He supposed, however, that Katsuya always seemed to be enjoying himself despite his losses. His resilience was certainly something Seto admired.

Seto nodded, but knew that Katsuya was not looking at him. He swallowed again, knowing he would have to say something. He felt his resolve shaking a bit in his embarrassment.

Just before Seto had decided on what he was going to say, Katsuya sprung up suddenly. They had reached the top and the room had started spinning, so they could get a full view of the park and the city beyond. Seto did not stand up immediately and showed no sign of interest in doing so, so Katsuya stepped back and grabbed his hand and pulled him up. The motion was so unexpected Seto did not react in time to keep himself seated. Katsuya pulled him over to the window, but did not let go of his hand.

"Wow, it's beautiful up here!" Katsuya said loudly, pushing his forehead crudely against the glass. After a moment, he unconsciously laced his fingers with Seto's and removed his face, pulling Seto against the grain of the turn so he could keep looking out at the city. Seto's heart was beating too hard for him to respond to what Katsuya said, much less how he was acting. Katsuya's hand was warm and his smile at seeing the city had been so big it made Seto's chest hurt.

"Look, there's the Kaiba Corp. building!" He said, pointing. He squeezed Seto's hand slightly and pulled them along a bit more. "Hell, it's huge even from this far away. Is your office on top?"

Seto was completely stunned into silence, but could not hope to pull himself away from Katsuya or his captivating eagerness. After a moment when he did not respond, Katsuya turned back to look at him, and Seto immediately nodded, extremely grateful for the opportunity to respond without having to speak. (His office was on one of the top floors, anyway. CEOs _do_ belong at the top, after all.) Katsuya gave him a weird look, as if suggesting Seto might be making one himself, but smiled nonetheless.

"It's probably the whole top floor, you bastard," he said softly and pulled them gently along. Rather than waiting for the ride to simply turn back around, Katsuya spent the whole time walking them against the turn so he could always be looking out at the city. Seto briefly thought that his office wasn't actually much larger than anyone else's, considering he didn't have to do a lot of physical work in it, but he couldn't blame Katsuya for making such an assumption, even if it was a joke.

"It is _not _the whole top floor," he said, the very slightest bit of defensiveness in his voice. He spoke almost exclusively because he didn't want Katsuya to become suspicious of him and ask questions, as Seto had not spoken since Katsuya had thanked him.

"You can see it if you like."

Katsuya turned completely around and stopped walking. He watched Seto very closely, his expression wide-eyed and closed-mouthed. At first he wasn't sure if he'd heard Seto correctly, but then he couldn't be mistaken. He wanted to catch Seto's face in the exact moment he'd made the suggestion so that if it changed, he would know. His expression might signify something ulterior or maybe that he had been joking, and Katsuya wanted to be sure it wasn't a joke before he responded. He inclined his head and raised his eyebrows as if to ask if Seto was serious, but Seto's expression did not change and he did not speak. After several moments of looking him in the eye, Katsuya felt that Seto was really being genuine about the offer, and couldn't help feeling excited.

He twisted his fingers slightly so that he could squeeze Seto's hand better, then tugged it, pulling him just a bit closer. He didn't know what to say, but he was surprised, really embarrassed at realizing he'd spent far more time holding Seto's hand than he'd meant to, and so strangely excited he wanted to yell, but he had no idea specifically _why_. Seeing the Kaiba Corporation building wasn't that big of a deal to him, but he could not deny the honor of Seto inviting him to see it. He'd never been invited into any part of Seto's life aside from his living room, and his bedroom on a single occasion.

As the room turned and a light passed across Seto's face, Katsuya suddenly noticed something he'd never seen before. He released Seto's hand, letting his fingertips brush against Seto's as it fell away. He was still looking Seto in eyes, but his face was much closer. His mouth opened into a sort of mischievous half-smile.

"I didn't know you had freckles."

Just then the room stopped spinning and they began to descend. Seto felt he might die of heart failure from the strain his body was experiencing, but he did his best to keep it completely undetectable. He swallowed, his mouth more dry than it had felt in years, and thought of the empty water bottle he'd kept discreetly with him the entire night. The were plunged into a dimness when the ride reached the tree-tops and Seto relaxed only a fraction, just enough to catch his breath and find a way to respond without coming apart at the seams.

He felt a touch of wildness, as if Katsuya had caught notice of something he had been trying to keep secret, although that was not the case. Considering Seto knew how close one had to be to his face to notice something like that made him feel on edge, but it was a feeling worth pursuing. With Katsuya it seemed to be a state of normality and that somehow made it feel safer.

The whole night with Katsuya had just been one trip of awkwardness over another, but they had both done their share of it. Katsuya seemed to always be confident with him, and even when timid, he wasn't timid enough to remain in silence. At times it was very hard to tell if Katsuya acted out of bravery or stupidity, but to Seto it always seemed to be some mixture of the two. Regardless of what it was, it was hard to fight with the even precision Seto was known for in his actions.

Despite the tumult in Seto's stomach and his racing heart, he could not turn away from Katsuya's eyes or he knew Katsuya would have something to say about it- or worse, ask him anything. Seto did not have nearly a good enough idea of where he stood to be questioned, so he kept on his straightest face and thought about everything as quickly as possible, so he could respond in a way that would not shatter everything.

He thought again of the water bottle and the girl, Katsuya's way of defending himself on the phone and after the punch, his loud, clear laugh that had played like a record all night, how Katsuya had held onto his arm in the haunted house, the look in Katsuya's eyes when he had leaned across Seto's legs to aim in the laser game, how he shivered as they walked through the crowds, the feeling of Katsuya's fingertips against his, the memory of Katsuya's lips, and the taste of lightning he got when that suggestiveness slipped off Katsuya's tongue- Seto's throat was completely closed for a moment and he felt it hard to breathe.

"Seeing as you've had to come this close to my face to notice them, I'm sure you can figure out why you were unaware of them before," Seto said plainly, turning his head to look back at the seats.

"But I've been that close to-" Katsuya started defensively, but immediately clammed up upon realizing his near-fatal mistake of mentioning the night he'd spent in Seto's room. To speak of it was to break all of the unspoken rules that had been obviously built up over the course of the evening.

They both kept absolutely still for a moment. Seto clenched his teeth hard and swallowed his embarrassment, refusing to acknowledge Katsuya's refute at all. He cautiously started back to his seat to wait for the ride to end. After a moment Katsuya followed suit, the sureness that he'd broken all the comfort between them weighing heavily on his spirits. He sat back down beside Seto, but was so disappointed with himself he did not bother to move when his shoulder relaxed against Seto's.

Katsuya decided that it was more shameful to allow their entire evening to be reduced to uncomfortable awkwardness after all of the progress he felt they'd made than to press forward against his, and certainly Seto's, will and try to save it, so he blindly continued on about Seto's freckles.

"They're worth seeing, though," Katsuya started. His voice had been slightly too loud and the words spoken too quickly, but it had broken the silence just the same. Seto inclined his head towards him after a moment, giving him a pensive look with knitted eyebrows, as if unsure why Katsuya was continuing the subject. Regardless of whether they continued the remainder of the evening in awkward silence or in awkward conversation, Seto did not really care because the awkwardness had already been done, but he was glad that Katsuya was making the effort to speak.

"I think they suit you," Katsuya continued lightly after Seto did not respond. He rubbed his nose briefly and turned up in his chair to face Seto, tucking his right leg beneath him. To Seto it appeared that Katsuya was on the offensive about the subject, but he couldn't see why. He was not going to acknowledge anything Katsuya said, so it seemed pointless to him that Katsuya should continue. Seto's expression was tired and aloof, but also seemed somewhat apprehensive, which made Katsuya genuinely unsure of whether or not Seto might be interested in his compliment. It gave him confidence, so he did not back down.

"It's a shame they're not really noticeable until you get up close. It's not like you let anyone over there long enough to see them," he laughed. "It's probably better they're so subtle, though. I bet you'd have a whole truckload more fan-girls if they knew you had freckles."

For a brief moment both of them felt the awkwardness of Katsuya's comment, feeling the uneasiness of the memory from that night hard-pressed to stay in the back of their minds. Seto scoffed, turning his eyes away. "And why is that?"

Katsuya cleared his throat and shrugged quickly, regretting briefly that he had not planned the compliment better. "I dunno. You kind of fit the_ tall, dark, and handsom_e look already, but freckles make you more... interesting?" He paused and scrunched up his face, feeling he'd already said too much and had come off strangely. He worried that Seto might take the compliment the wrong way, but wasn't exactly sure what the _wrong way_ would be. Seto raised his eyebrows at the end of Katsuya's sentence and Katsuya immediately realized his mistake.

"Not that you're not interesting!" he said quickly, feeling he was on the verge of upsetting Seto for sounding like a jackass, or worse, a suck-up. "It's just not something someone would expect on a guy like you, that's all. Girls like that exotic shit."

Seto scoffed again, shifting his legs. He wanted to crack a smile, but resisted. Katsuya certainly had a pathetic and roundabout way of giving someone a compliment, but it was amusing. He was kind of grateful that he could always expect Katsuya to make a complete fool of himself, particularly when he meant well. It was something to depend on.

"As you well know," Seto started dryly, "a "guy like me" certainly has to worry whether or not he is exotic enough to obtain a woman," Seto closed his eyes. He felt slightly irritated at Katsuya bringing his compliment to end at the mention of a female, but he reconciled that his response was typical for a heterosexual male. Neglecting his annoyance, he decided to run the risk of tarnishing his reputation by slouching slightly in his seat and pushing his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, shut up," Katsuya laughed defensively, "I know you don't need any help." He nudged Seto in the arm, who wanted to smile, but didn't. "I'd say "don't you know how to take a compliment?" because it's not like you don't get them all the time, but I saw tonight how that goes, and you really can't take a compliment worth a damn."

"I don't need compliments, bonkotsu," Seto replied evenly. After a moment of silence, Katsuya's warm shoulder sat back against his.

"That doesn't mean you can't appreciate them."

Seto's opinion on the matter was very apparent- the fact was that he absolutely didn't care who thought what about his physical appearance for any reason. Despite it, he did feel a sneaking sense of gratitude for Katsuya's (too-well expressed) appreciation, although he could not tell if Katsuya was just trying to cover up his own fascination with the comment about women or if that was really the extent of Katsuya's opinion. It frustrated him, but not enough to stay on his mind. Seto briefly thought of how comfortable it was to have Katsuya leaning against his left side, but was most grateful that Katsuya had finally both given up the subject and stopped speaking, as there was much he had to think about.

When the ride finally returned to the ground Seto was the first to stand; Katsuya nearly fell over at the abruptness of Seto's movement and was made confused by it. He grumbled and stood up, rubbing his tired eyes. Although he was outside of the ride first, Seto waited for Katsuya to catch up before he continued, who seemed to be moving slowly from sleepiness. They traversed back across the park side-by-side, only Katsuya's yawns breaking the silence. It appeared to Seto that every time he tried to glance at Katsuya discreetly, Katsuya would look up almost immediately, as if from some intuition. Seto found it uncanny that he should do so with such accuracy, and meant to feel embarrassed, but he was distracted by the fact that each time Katsuya found his eyes, he never failed to smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Just so everyone knows, I re-wrote the ending of the last chapter. I feel it was rushed because I was in a bit of a rut when I finished it, so I went back and cleared it up some. Everything after "and he felt it hard to breathe" is new or synthesized material, so give that a look if you want! Thank you guys for reading, sorry about the delay on the update! xxxx

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><p>Seto and Katsuya reached the front of the amusement park with a few minutes to spare. They both stood hands-in-pockets beside the ticket kiosks, but out of the way of the people exiting the park. Katsuya shifted his feet often and looked around too much while Seto stood perfectly still, waiting patiently as he usually did. Katsuya was about to ask Seto the time when he noticed a hand waving; he saw that it was Shizuka and lifted his hand to wave back. Seto had been thinking again on how miserable Katsuya looked shivering in his withered jacket, but turned slowly when Katsuya began waving over him. He watched as the two younger ones ran up to meet them; each was put perfectly at ease to see their respective siblings in one piece.<p>

"Hey guys, have a good time?" Katsuya asked politely, embracing Shizuka gently.

"Yeah!" Mokuba responded eagerly. "Shizuka didn't tell me she liked roller coasters so much, it reminds me of-"

Upon receiving a sudden piercing glare from his older brother, Mokuba changed the subject.

"-Yeah, we had loads of fun!" he continued, looking nervously Seto. "We rode everything twice, I think. Man, that laser game is my favourite!"

Seto swallowed.

"We did, I had such a good time," Shizuka laughed. "Look at the stuffed animal Mokuba won for me, big brother! Isn't it cute?" **

"It's- it's adorable, but... what is it?" Katsuya laughed, taking it from her offering hands.

"It's a capybara, you idiot," chimed in Seto uncharacteristically. Everyone stopped to look at him briefly, astounded he'd spoken at all. Seto personally felt that insulting Katsuya justified his unnatural spoken turn. Katsuya didn't want to be the one to pay for the accidental attention they all paid him later, so he quickly carried on.

"Oh, _pft_," he laughed. "I see it now, but it's like… why is it just a head?" he asked, handing it back to Shizuka.

"I don't know, but I love it!" she said, squeezing it tightly to her chest. "Did you guys have a good time?"

Katsuya nodded, Seto made no movements whatsoever.

"Yep. Old grumpy gills over here wouldn't ride anything with me, so we just walked around for a while."

"But Seto loves amuse-" Mokuba went to counter, but with another glare, he stopped himself again.

"-_buuuut_, Seto!" he said in mock anger, making an ugly face. "You said you were gonna try to have fun tonight."

"Oh, I did," Seto countered flatly. "I've had all the fun I can stand."

"You did not!" Mokuba argued.

"I assure you, I'm entirely _funned out_," he replied, not changing his tone.

Katsuya put the back of his hand over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing and Shizuka tugged on the sleeve of his jacket.

"Big brother, you didn't really spend this entire time just walking around, did you? I'd feel so horrible if you did. I mean, _you_ invited _me, _I can't be the one that had all the fun."

Amidst his arguing with Mokuba, Seto happened to overhear what Shizuka said and stopped immediately to look over at her (and more importantly) Katsuya. Katsuya had told him that Shizuka wanted to go; did she not just say that _he _invited _her?_

Katsuya felt all the horror of what was about to happen, but he was powerless to stop it. He swallowed hard and did his best to take it in stride.

"No, Shizuka, really," he said loudly. "We had a lot of fun. I did drag him onto the panoramic tower, the view was really spectacular."

"Ooh, Mokuba and I got on that!" she said. "You can see the Kaiba Corp. building from there!"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Katsuya responded, very purposefully avoiding looking at Seto, whose glare he could almost feel.

"Big brother!" Shizuka said suddenly, reaching out her hand to touch Katsuya's cheek. She held his jaw gently and moved his face into the light.

"Did you get into a _fight_?" she asked, sounding extremely concerned. "It looks like someone hit you!"

Katsuya grimaced, but took the opportunity it gave him to change the subject from the fact that he had lied to Seto about the reason for the invitation to the park.

"Yes, actually," he said plainly, moving his eyes towards Seto. "He punched me in the face."

Shizuka immediately turned to look at him and Mokuba turned as well.

"Mr. Kaiba, is that true?" she said in disbelief. For a few moments Seto's expression did not change at all, but he felt anxious at being so openly accused, despite being guilty as charged. Why had Katsuya so readily admitted to their fight?

"Hm," he said flatly, nodding vaguely. Katsuya had been a little apprehensive about how Seto was going to respond, but it was too late to take back what he'd said, so he waited, hoping it would end in his favor.

"You did _not_," Mokuba offered, scoffing and crossing his arms. "What _really _happened?"

Seto crossed his arms and a half-smile lit his face.

"I wish I had hit him," Seto lamented, "he would have deserved it. He's lying because he's embarrassed- he ran straight into a sign attached to one of the food vending carts. It was really humiliating to watch."

Mokuba could not suppress a small laugh, but Shizuka just covered her mouth, looking more worried than before. Feeling heat rise to his face at Seto's degrading lie, Katsuya laughed to go along. Seto was probably already paying him back for lying to him about the invitation, which Seto had every right to be upset about. A lie for a lie, that's how things worked with Seto most of the time, and Katsuya had no choice but to accept those terms. Not wanting things to become irreparably disastrous by the potential of another round of lies, Katsuya made to excuse Shizuka and himself for the evening as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, it was stupid," Katsuya said, rubbing his cheek gently and smiling. The nervousness in his stomach made him feel sick. "Anyway, Shizuka, it's not a big deal. Thanks for being concerned, though."

Mokuba scoffed again and rolled his eyes, muttering to himself about how anyone could be so clumsy. Seto felt a brief taste of satisfaction and having embarrassed Katsuya- it was what Katsuya deserved after lying to him to get him to come to the park. Then, however, Seto found himself focused on the fact that the change of motivation meant Katsuya had wanted him to come just for the sake of coming. He didn't regret lying about Katsuya's face because it made them even, but he did feel differently about the situation entirely. He didn't immediately know how to feel, but he wasn't mad.

Shizuka wrapped her arm gently around Katsuya's and pushed against him.

"Sorry you got hurt," she said gently.

"Jeez, I'm serious. It's not a big deal," Katsuya laughed. "Anyway, we'd better be off for the night. I've got to take you back early tomorrow. Thanks for coming along you two; I hope you had a good time, Mokuba."

"I did! You guys should come to Kaiba Land sometime, though. It's way better than this."

Seto stared disdainfully at Mokuba, but he furrowed his eyebrows stubbornly and did not relent.

"Thanks for inviting us. Maybe one day Seto will stop being such a stiff and enjoy himself in public for once," he said, making a face.

"It's past your bedtime," Seto said stiffly.

"What!" Mokuba shouted indignantly as they began to walk away. "I'm 15! I don't have a bed time!"

Seto did not respond. Mokuba stopped to turn back and wave at Shizuka and Katsuya; Seto turned with him, but did not move otherwise.

"It was good seeing you Shizuka, get Jounouchi to bring you again some time!"

"I will!" she responded, waving back. "Thank you again for the stuffed animal!"

"No prob'!"

"It was nice to see you Mr. Kaiba," Shizuka continued. "I'm really glad you and Mokuba were coming tonight- and thank you for keeping big brother company."

Seto inclined his head slightly and said nothing, turning his eyes deliberately to Katsuya as if to obtain a verdict on the condition of their departure. Katsuya's posture showed that he knew he was in trouble, but exactly how much, he had no idea. He had been absentmindedly rubbing his cheek and avoiding Seto's intense scrutiny, but upon hearing the verbal goodbyes die out, he was forced to look up.

He met eyes with Seto, whose expression was even less readable than normal due to the darkness. Katsuya couldn't infer anything at all about what terms they were parting on and it made him uneasy. Mokuba had already turned to walk away, but Seto lingered a moment. Katsuya took Seto's hesitation as his way of leaving in a manner that wasn't completely offended. After all, Katsuya thought, Seto most likely would have stalked off without so much as a backward glance if he had really been mad. Katsuya was grateful, but the look Seto was giving him kept the uneasiness in his stomach. It seemed almost as if Seto wanted to say something, but wouldn't. It made him curious.

Just as Seto was turning away, Katsuya finally got the confidence to say something. He couldn't allow Seto to leave with everything hanging in the balance and Seto obviously felt his statement had been made. Katsuya had already personally thanked Seto several times for coming and expressed how happy he was, and he certainly didn't feel it the time or place to explain why he had lied, so he made it simple.

"Goodnight, Seto," Katsuya called gently to his turned back. Seto hesitated for the slightest moment, but continued walking. He saw Mokuba waiting ahead of him with an incredulous look on his face.

"Did he just call you 'Seto'?" Mokuba whispered as Seto came up beside him.

"Forget it," he said solidly, not stopping.

"Since when are you on a first name basis?" Mokuba asked quietly, snickering. A cold stare from Seto quieted him nicely enough so they continued into the parking lot in silence.

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><p>"It's so nice that you and Mr. Kaiba are friends now," Shizuka said pleasantly to Katsuya as she squeezed the arm she'd clutched onto and followed him back to the car. "I think you're really good for him, you know."<p>

Katsuya nearly dropped the keys he had fished from his pants pocket.

"I mean, with a good brother like Mokuba and a good friend like you, I think Mr. Kaiba will be much less reserved in the future," she smiled.

Katsuya swallowed and laughed lightly, feeling relieved of his sense of panic. "Good for Seto" in terms of helping him to break his reclusive nature Katsuya could agree with, but otherwise, he wasn't so sure.

They reached the car and Katsuya opened the passenger door for Shizuka.

"Do you want me to treat that when we get home?" she asked, motioning to his cheek and slipping into the seat. Katsuya shut the door and rounded onto the driver's side and climbed in.

"Honestly, it's fine. Thank you, though." He pushed the key into the ignition and started the car. "I'm glad you came."

"I am, too. I'm glad you invited me. I really hope you had a good time, though."

"I did," Katsuya said, rubbing his cheek lightly and swallowing. He pulled the gear shift into reverse. "I really did."

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><p>"<em>Seto!"<em> Mokuba said loudly.

"Hm?" Seto turned his head and looked at Mokuba, who was glaring at him with crossed arms from across the back seat of the car.

"Welcome back, space cadet. I've said your name twice already," Mokuba huffed, shoving his back against the seat. "What's your problem?"

Seto felt uncomfortable for having been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Mokuba saying his name. He pushed his right thumb hard into his left palm and thought a moment.

"No problem, just tired."

"I bet, especially from all that nothing you did," Mokuba said sarcastically. Seto's expression softened, but he did not reply.

"Anyway, you're just being weird and I thought something might be up."

Seto gave him a disbelieving look, which was fair, as Seto's disposition rarely ever changed.

"You've been messing with your hands like a crazy person ever since we got in the car," Mokuba explained, unfolding his arms and twisting against his seatbelt to face Seto.

"And you've looked out the window and down at your hands twice and you just look so _serious- _it's like you've lost one of your Blue Eyes and now you can't face reality or something, it's so creepy."

Seto knew Mokuba was being dramatic, but he did feel embarrassed that he'd been so obviously preoccupied. He looked gently back down at his hands for effect.

"If I don't wash the filth of the public from my hands soon, I might fire someone who doesn't deserve it tomorrow."

"Jeez!" Mokuba laughed, "You're such a germaphobe, and you do that all the time anyway." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Hmm, but between your hands and the whole conflicted look- did you really hit Jounouchi?"

Seto looked up at him slowly and said nothing. He had a feeling his face was being too telling, but Mokuba knowing about it didn't distress him aside from how much he was going to be bothered to talk about it.

"What'd he _do_, though?" Mokuba insisted, not waiting for Seto to reply. "I mean, I know he's an idiot, but you usually just settle that stuff with duels. It must have been serious."

Seto did not respond for a moment, but then admitted in a tired voice, "He trapped a so-called "fan" of mine into our cart in the Haunted House without my consent."

"You _did_ go on rides!" Mokuba almost shouted. Seto grimaced, internally cursing himself for telling the whole truth.

"I know that's not the point," Mokuba continued, smiling despite the look on his brother's face, "but I knew you couldn't go a whole night at an amusement park without riding _anything, _even if it's not nearly as good as Kaiba Land."

He clicked his tongue thoughtfully, "But what a lousy thing for him to do. He has to know how much that bugs you."

Seto nodded grimly.

"But you really punched him for it? Right in the face?" Mokuba asked, the excitement in his voice apparent.

"Twice," Seto replied, his voice lifting slightly. He could not stop himself from being proud.

"Twice!" Mokuba nearly shouted again, laughing incredulously. "Jeez, big brother, you've really got some balls,"- Seto winced at his lax terminology- "I mean, you're a lot smarter than he is, yeah, but he's bigger than you. He was in a _gang_, you know? He could probably have done some serious damage if he wanted to, especially since you didn't have anybody tailing you tonight for safety."

Seto appreciated Mokuba's concern, but the thought of Katsuya's clumsiness and comical personality made him feel that all of Katsuya's real danger had long since dissipated. With his friends, Katsuya was generally a very physical person, but in flopping his body over their backs, doing stupid handshakes, and play-tackling them as he did, he was certainly not a threat. Seto resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the thought. Katsuya tended to rough-house with his friends, but nothing actually violent came out of him much anymore unless seriously provoked. Seto supposed he was one of those people Katsuya was close enough to to be physical with, but thinking about it made him anxious; Katsuya was almost never in physical contact with him at all, despite this development, so how close did Katsuya consider him to be?

Seto thought that at some point he must have been on the side nearly provoking the violence out of Katsuya, but that certainly was not the case now, if it had been before. In having his hand held and his kiss returned, Seto didn't exactly feel Katsuya was a destroyer that should be feared, but those physical things were incredibly novel and incidental. Katsuya was even more physically reserved with him than he was with his friends in most cases, standing too close to Seto for no apparent reason, looking over his shoulder when he was working, and somewhat recently nudging his shoulder at times, but that was the extent of it. He wasn't exactly sure where he stood with Katsuya, then, if not obviously physically friend or foe.

Regardless, he was aware that Katsuya had been in a gang, as his unrefined demeanor was still painfully obvious at times, and Katsuya was probably still an impressive street fighter, despite the rarity of his practice. He knew that if Katsuya wanted to, he could have fought back, but true to the righteous nature he'd developed somewhere along the way, he was no longer the type to resist a punishment he deserved. When Seto thought about it, Katsuya seemed always hesitant to truly fight with him anymore, but he seemed to do so out of respect for maintaining their relationship rather than unwillingness to fight. Seto could not decide if he was more irritated or impressed by this dedication. Katsuya had more of that fluffy mop of hair than he had brains, but despite that and his Orphan Annie clothes, he had an indescribable attractiveness, a genuine, albeit simple, personality, and a way of making Seto's heart pound.

"Yes, I'm sure I was in a lot of danger. Let us be thankful that he did not attack me for hitting him when he deserved it."

Mokuba scoffed, then suddenly got excited. He loved pestering Seto with questions because Seto was so high-strung and reserved, it was rare to get such good development out of him.

"He's calling you Seto now, what's up with that?"

Seto didn't have an answer to that. He wasn't sure when Katsuya had begun to call him Seto, but he didn't really mind it. Katsuya had called him "Kaiba" with such disgust in high school, he probably didn't want to remind himself of the way they used to act. Especially lately, since things had seemed to escalate personally to some degree; informality at the current point would be painstaking.

"It probably makes him feel important," Seto replied. Mokuba could not argue with that. Seto's first name was certainly a social grace not allowed to most.

"Yeah, but it doesn't seem like it bothers you," Mokuba suggested.

"Unlike him, I don't /care/ what he calls me. It's not like it's going to affect me in any way," Seto said derisively. In the moment of silence after he'd finished speaking, he closed his mouth and grit his teeth hard, feeling he'd made his point in the worst way. He could have just said "it doesn't," because that would have been the truth, but he had chosen instead to make a point that he didn't care, despite knowing the difference between the two and knowing the latter was untrue.

He had spoken of Katsuya the way he used to, with such a bitter inflection in his voice that was long since unnecessary. He felt confused and disgusted with himself for doing so. That it was so much easier for him to speak callously of Katsuya despite their developing friendship disturbed him because he could not even question himself about whether or not Katsuya still spoke negatively of him to Yuugi and the others, even on accident- he knew that Katsuya didn't.

"It's a wonder you don't have more friends," Mokuba said lightly, rolling his eyes. He felt Seto was being defensive because he didn't want to explain the situation for what it was, but that was typical.

"He comes over more often now, though, and you came to the park tonight knowing you'd be with him the whole time. You must not mind having him around."

Seto both no longer knew how to and did not feel the need to respond.

"Does anybody call him by his first name?" Mokuba asked, changing the subject, feeling he wasn't going to get any more of Seto on the previous one. "Shizuka just called him "big brother" all night and everybody from Yuugi's group just calls him "Jounouchi". I don't even think I know his first name."

"It's "Katsuya"," Seto said immediately, then felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he'd spoken a taboo word. For some reason, calling Katsuya by his first name felt intensely more personal than Katsuya calling Seto by his own.

"Katsuya," Mokuba repeated. "That's a decent name. You guys are friends now, right? I mean, you don't say it, but you obviously are. Why not call him his first name, too? Shizuka and I do it, you know."

The car had pulled up to the front steps of the Kaiba Estate and they both climbed out.

"It's unnecessary to get that personal," Seto said, shutting the door. " 'Bonkotsu' suits him just fine."

Despite what he'd said, as they climbed the steps to the front door, Seto thought he wasn't averse to getting more personal with Katsuya. He hadn't disliked it at all thus far and couldn't decide whether that made him more aggravated or satisfied. He rubbed his hands together and the warmth it created made him think of Katsuya's hands holding his. It made him nervous that he should connect Katsuya with such a thing so readily. He regretted speaking of Katsuya the way he had, although it had kind of been the truth, under the negative connotations, but he definitely wasn't bothered about it one way or the other.

Frustrated that he was even still thinking about it, he tried to remember the way Katsuya said his name to test himself. To his slight surprise, he found he could recall it almost immediately. He heard the Katsuya he knew in high school saying his last name in that threatening growl that was produced whenever Seto would provoke him with some condescending comment. Seto broke a small smile at the thought, although he felt largely indifferent towards these moments aside from being vaguely amused at how easily upset Katsuya used to be.

Then he thought of the present Katsuya exclaiming incredulously after the roller-coaster and speaking to him on the phone, but stronger than anything heard his first name in the whisper that had disturbed him in his half-sleep state the night they'd spent together. He heard it once, twice, a third time in his mind, and his throat constricted. He thought of Katsuya's warm hands, his warm lips saying "Seto" in such a nervous and honest way, and the gentleness of his kiss. He shut out all thoughts as the color began to rise to his face, thinking it was just because Katsuya said it differently that it made a difference. Honestly, though, he couldn't help feeling he might prefer his first name to his last after all. He swallowed, feeling the front door was much heavier than usual as he pushed it open, thinking gravely that after all the time he'd spent with Katsuya, "bonkotsu" probably served more as a nickname now than an insult.

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><p>**- Google "capybara plush" to see the plush Shizuka has!<p> 


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